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For three quarters, Cape Henlopen High School fought valiantly to defend its Slam Dunk to the Beach Mayor's Cup title and show its worth as the host school of perhaps the top prep boys' basketball tournament in the nation.

But the burden of stopping a powerful 6-foot-7 opposing center proved to be too much, and the Vikings fell to St. John Neumann 85-64 in the championship game of the four-team bracket on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 1998.

Cape coach Ed Waples, however, had nothing but praise for his team, which stayed within striking distance until the fourth quarter.

"My kids can play with nationally-ranked teams," Waples boasted. "I don't want to take anything away from that team, but I'm proud of our guys. They went out there and they did a good job.

"We were concerned going into this game about this team coming out and just stomping us. But I told them (players) we at least had to be respectable and they did more. They're in good spirits right now."

Neumann had five players score in double figures, including center Brandon Brigman, who had 22 points and 12 rebounds. Charles Bailey also had 22 points while David Crawford added 13, Robert Taylor 12 and Hakim Haynes 11.

Cape used a fast-break offense to stay close the first 24 minutes but was eventually worn down by Neumann's inside power game. The Pirates (6-4) outrebounded Cape 45-39 in the game and grabbed 21 offensive boards.

"That's a good team," Waples said of Neumann. "I was shocked that they were even in our bracket but I told the guys they can play with anybody."

During a fast-paced first half, Cape (3-3) consistently used long outlet passes to get behind the Nuemann defenders for easy layups. Adam Scott and Tom Sheehan were also able to get open underneath for scores.

Darrell Davis led Cape with 17 points while Scott added 13 and Sheehan 10.

After falling behind by 11 midway through the second quarter, Cape fought back to within 45-38 at halftime and cut the Neumann lead to just 47-45 with 5:11 left in the third period. Davis had a pair of layups and a free throw during a 7-0 run that got Cape within two points.

But the Pirates outscored the Vikings 12-4 over the next five minutes to grab a 59-49 lead at the end of the third quarter. Neumann then clinched the win by outscoring Cape 26-15 in the fourth period.

Brigman scored 10 points in the game's final nine minutes.

"We used three guys on him," Waples said of Brigman. "There at the end I think our guys got a little lazy. I thought defensively we backed off a little bit ... and he was able to do some nice things."

Neumann settled into a zone defense most of the second half and took control of the game. Forced to fire from the perimeter, Cape shot just 29 percent (9 for 31) in the second half and 36 percent for the game. The Vikings also made just 3 of 14 shots from beyond the 3-point arc.

But Waples was encouraged by his team's gutsy effort heading into a regular-season schedule that features Caesar Rodney on Jan. 5, 1999.

"You can't take anything away from Cape. We're back," Waples said. "I think people will pay attention to us. We did a lot of good things."

Neumann raced to an early 11-4 lead but Cape got its fast break rolling and pulled even at 22-22 at the end of the first quarter. Scott and Sheehan combined for 10 points in the period while O.J. Wilson converted a clutch three-point play.

The Pirates, however, used a 15-4 second quarter run to open a 37-26 lead with 2:44 to play . Bailey had a 3-pointer and a pair of layups as Neumann took a lead it would never relinquish.

Cape stayed close the rest of the half thanks to a three-point play by Tim Widdoes and a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Scott and trailed just 45-38 at the break.