Cape Fear Bounces Back With Win Over Wake Tech

Wilmington, NC - Cape Fear men's basketball rebounded from a tough loss over the weekend, defeating Wake Tech Community College 123-71. Jacque Brown lead with 19 points, 11 assists, and six rebounds, while Trae Bryant scored 17 points on 5-9 shooting, and 4-5 from the 3-point line.

Alston Davis would open the game with a 3-pointer from top of the line. The Eagles would respond with four straight points before Bryant would knock a 3-pointer to put them back on top.

After Wake Tech would cut the lead to one, Bryant would knock down another 3-pointer to put his team up 13-6. They looked primed to pull away early, but 3-point shooting by the Eagles would keep the score close.

Cape Fear would go up 23-16 with roughly 14 minutes remaining in the first half, but Wake Tech would continue to shoot well, scoring five straight to cut Cape Fear's lead to just two points. That would be as close as it would get, however, as the Sea Devils would push the lead back out to seven, lead 30-23 with 10 minutes remaining.

The Sea Devils were lead by Bryant in the first half, who had 11 of the team's 30 points in the first 10 minutes of the game. Alonzo Tyson, the team's leading scorer, was limited in the first half due to foul trouble, which made Bryant's early scoring important.

Asked how he was able to score so effectively during that stretch, Bryant pointed to finding open spots on the court. "Just running the lanes like coach said. He said sprint to the corner and they'll find you."

With eight minutes remaining, Cape Fear would begin pulling away. They would extend and hold a 12 point lead for a few minutes, before a 3-pointer by Jerick Haynes would extend their lead to 15 with five minutes remaining. Two minutes later, a hook shot by DeVarte Watson would extend the lead to 19.

The Sea Devils would head into halftime up 55-37. Bryant would lead with 12 points, while Davis and Jacque Brown each had 10 points a piece.

Cape Fear would start the second half on a 11-0 run, highlighted by a one-handed alley-oop slam by Bryant. With a 29 point lead, Cape Fear had taken full control of the game. They looked to get Tyson more involved in the offense, which opened up shots for others on the perimeter.

Brown would give the Sea Devils a 75-49 lead with a made 3-pointer with 12:39 remaining. Two minutes later, a corner-3 by Trevor Willis would give the Sea Devils their first 30 point lead of the game. Cape Fear punished the Eagles with good ball movement, and by dominating the offensive glass.

Cape Fear would clear it's bench with roughly eight minutes remaining. They would get good minutes out of Parrish Tinsley, who would contribute 10 points and eight rebounds in eight minutes of play, while Michael Taylor would score 11 points, knocking down three 3-pointers. The bench unit maintained the intensity of the rotation, and continued to build the lead past 50 points.

For the game, Cape Fear shot a prolific 50.6 percent from the field, and 55.2 percent from the 3-point line. They scored 50 points in the paint, and the bench outscored Wake Tech's 49-14.

Afterwards, Head Coach Ryan Mantlo talked about how the way his team picked it up after a slow start. "I thought we played hard. We started off a little slow, and a little hungover [after the Georgia Highlands loss], but the guys picked it up, and the guys really battled for about 35 minutes."

Bryant liked the way his teammates played together. "I thought we played well as a team, everybody was clicking, everybody was hitting shots, and everybody [played their role], and that all contributed to the win."

Once his team picked up their play, Coach Mantlo liked how they didn't let up for the rest of the game. "I think we just put our foot to the pedal. I don't think we let up in the last 10 minutes, [and] I loved seeing the bench and the way they were cheering for each other. If we can buy into each other, we have the pieces to be pretty darn good."

The win improves Cape Fear's record to 3-1. They will play next on Friday, November 18th, where they will take on Virginia Preps on the road. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Courtesy of Nick Denning