LAUREL — The green light is always on for the Caesar Rodney High boys’ basketball team.
And the Riders aren’t shy about letting the ball fly.
Caesar Rodney drained 12 three-pointers on its way to a 95-65 victory at fourth seed Laurel High in the second round of the DIAA state tournament on Thursday night. The 13th-seeded Riders (15-7) advanced to play at No. 5 Appoquinimink on Saturday at 6 p.m.
A total of 12 players scored for the Riders, led by senior Kamal Marvel’s 21 points. Six different players made at least one three-pointer for Caesar Rodney who reached the quarterfinals for the second year in a row.
“We turned it up to a whole ‘nother level,” Marvel said. “I can’t even explain it.”
The Riders took control early, racing out to a 19-3 lead six minutes into the contest paced by back-to-back threes from senior Brandon Hatch. Caesar Rodney was on top
27-13 at the end of the first quarter thanks to a buzzer-beating three by junior Brycen Williams.
Senior Syed Myles scored 11 points while Williams added 10. Juniors Jaelin Joyner and Juan Jordan recorded nine points apiece.
“It’s our last year and it’s all about having fun with the boys,” Myles “It was crazy out there tonight. That’s what we’ve been practice for since day one. When you’re a kid in middle school, you dream about this moments.”
“The best word for me is unselfish,” Marvel said. “We make sure everybody eats. We know that if share the ball, we can’t be stopped.”
The 95 points is the most for the Riders in a single game in at least 12 years. Their previous high this season was 89.
“I think our boys were due to have a game like this,” said first-year coach Frank Victory. “We’ve won ugly a lot, especially recently. But we felt like we were coming into our own. It all came together.”
The large amount of three-pointers is by design, Victory said. That’s how he wants his team to play.
“You’re not going to get taken out of the game if you miss a shot,” Victory said. “I want you to shoot the basketball I want you to be confident to shoot any time you’re open. That’s how we play. It’s fun way to play basketball. When we’re shooting like that, it’s contagious.”
Laurel, who finished the season at 18-4 overall, was led by freshman Dontarius Jones who netted 23 points. Freshman Corey Mumford and sophomore Javier White also scored in double digits with 12 and 10 points respectively.
With four freshmen and four sophomores on the roster, Victory thinks the Bulldogs have a bright future ahead of them.
“That team is going to be dangerous for years to come,” Victory said. “We knew coming into the game we needed to take a step forward from what we did on Tuesday to beat a team like Laurel. You don’t win 18 games by accident. If those kids stick around, they’ll be in the conference championship for the next three years for sure. We’re looking to get them on the schedule for sure.”