Seahawks Put Away Pesky Indians, 81-72

BERLIN- Stephen Decatur’s varsity basketball team squeezed in a game this week and beat Wicomico, 81-72, to improve to 9-4 on the season.

The Seahawks faced the Indians on Tuesday in a rare game over the last two weeks because of continued weather-related school closures and withstood a couple of comeback attempts to come away with the 81-72 win. The Decatur boys ran their post-holiday break win streak to five and remained unbeaten during the month that has seen more than its share of fits and starts because of continued cancelations.

Decatur got out to a quick start against Wicomico on Tuesday and built a double-digit lead about halfway through the first period. Wicomico battled back and cut the lead to 21-17, but a three-pointer by Randy DuPont at the buzzer pushed the Seahawk lead back to 24-17 after one. It was a pattern that would play out through much of the game with the Seahawks building their lead only to see the pesky Indians get right back in it.

In the second quarter, Decatur led by as many as 13 points, but again, Wicomico closed the gap. When the period ended, the Seahawks led 44-33 going into intermission. Wicomico mounted a strong charge in the third quarter, cutting the Decatur lead at one point to 52-49. Again, the Seahawks responded and led by 11 points after three quarters.

Wicomico battled in the fourth, cutting the Decatur lead to just six points about halfway through the period. The Seahawks finished strong, however, and finally put away the Indians on the strength of 11-13 free throw shooting late in the fourth. Colin Gaynor finished with 22 points and DuPont added 21.

With the win, the Seahawks improved to 9-4 on the season, but have now won five straight. They were scheduled to play Delaware power Indian River on Wednesday, but the game was postponed due to snow. Decatur was scheduled to play county rival Pocomoke last night in a game scheduled too late to be included in this edition. The Seahawks will face Mardela and Crisfield in back-to-back games next Monday and Tuesday.