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Ravens Capture Henlopen Title
By DAVID MAULL, Cafe Locale
After spending eight years molding Sussex Tech into one of the most successful high school boys' basketball programs in Southern Delaware, Jerry Kobasa finally has something to show for his efforts.
On Tuesday night, March 2, 1999, the Ravens captured their first Henlopen Conference championship and established themselves as legitimate state title contenders with a 63-50 win over Southern Division champion Lake Forest in the conference title game before a screaming capacity crowd at Cape Henlopen High School.
The win improved Tech's overall record to 21-2 heading into the state tournament.
"I think in eight years, to do what we did -- with Buck (Starkey, former head coach) and I starting on a concrete floor at Living Waters (Church) -- we've come a long way," said Kobasa, who was Starkey's assistant from 1992-95. "We've got a long way to go yet, too."
The Northern Division champion Ravens, ranked fourth in the state, are the No. 3 seed in the state tournament and received a first-round bye. They will face either Brandywine or Middletown in the second round Saturday afternoon.
On Tuesday night, Tech seized control of the game midway through the first quarter and built its lead to as many as 14 points in the second half before holding off a furious Lake rally in the final period.
Once again, Brian Polk was the catalyst, scoring 17 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and frustrating Lake (19-4) with a series of blocked shots and steals. There wasn't much that happened on the court that Polk wasn't in the middle of.
"Brian Polk showed what kind of player he is. If he's not one of the best players in the state, I don't know what is," Kobasa said. "He did some things that were just unbelievable, even I was shaking my head tonight."
Said Polk: "I wanted to win. I didn't want to come out here and play 110 percent and not win. I wanted to take it to 120."
Thanks mainly to Polk, Tech outrebounded Lake 40-31 (22-15 in the second half) and used its pressure defense to force numerous costly turnovers, especially in the game's final three minutes.
The Ravens also kept Lake's standout center Mike Stevenson in check, limiting him to 15 points.
"We thought that was a big key. We could not let them penetrate, we did not want Mike to get off and get hot," Kobasa said. "Mike is such a great inside player that we were trying to shut off those lanes."
Tech carried a 44-32 lead into the fourth quarter but sixth-ranked Lake got hot from long range and made it a game again. The Spartans got three 3-pointers and some clutch foul shooting in outscoring the Ravens 17-7 over first five minutes of the quarter.
Larry Bryant and Maquella Jones hit treys to trim the Tech lead to seven before Bryant was fouled on a 3-point attempt and sank all three free throws. When Dorell Little put back a missed shot and Bryant sank another three from the baseline with 3:04 to play, the Tech lead was just 51-49.
"Anytime you've got a Bill Falasco-coached team, and you've got all-state players like Mike Stevenson and Larry Bryant, it ain't over," Kobasa said.
"We thought we had it and we tried to relax a little bit and tried to coast. Then we realized that's not the thing to do so we tightened up," Polk said. "We relaxed at the wrong time and they made the clutch 3-pointers."
Lake actually had a chance to tie the game from the foul line but Jud Dean missed front end of a one-and-one. It would be all Tech from that point on, as the Spartans would not get another field goal the rest of the game.
Tech reeled off the next 10 points and stymied the Lake attack with a nasty pressure defense.
"That's the way we've played all year, that's our game. Hopefully the pressure's going to wear them down and it did. There was about four or five times that they just threw the ball out of bounds," Kobasa said. "They spent a lot of energy coming back and we went back pressuring again and extending little bit. We seemed to get a couple quick turnovers and got our composure back and started playing our game again."
Polk started the decisive run with a pair of tip-ins, the second coming on a spectacular move in the paint, to extend the Tech lead to six. Rondell Wise followed with a layup and a pair of free throws to seal the victory.
Lake managed only a Stevenson free throw down the stretch and turned the ball over on four of five possessions after pulling within two points. The Spartans also shot just 8 for 22 from the foul line in the game.
"The kids showed a lot of character. They turned it right back around. They deserve a lot of credit," Kobasa said.
Tynell Tingle added 12 points for the Ravens, who also got solid contributions from a number of lesser-known players. With point guard Brandon Palmer struggling, Darnell Bryant chipped in with nine points, Wise eight and L.J. Walston and Robert hooks six each.
"I wanted to come in and step up my game because it's state tournament time and we're looking to take home the big one." Wise said. "I just wanted to go out and play so the seniors would have something to remember. We waited all four years for something good to happen. It's the best thing since sliced bread."
Little had 11 points and Bryant 10 for Lake.
Tech got off to a sluggish start early in the game, falling behind 5-0, but finished the first quarter on a 15-2 run. Polk had nine points in the period and converted a 3-point play off a steal and layup.
The Ravens extend their lead to 11 at 26-15 in the second quarter when Tingle hit a 3-pointer and another jumper from just inside the arc and Bryant scored off a nifty no-look pass from Polk.
Lake fought to within 28-22 at halftime and cut the Tech lead to two when Stevenson dunked and Quinton Marshall dropped in a layup to open the third quarter.
But the Ravens responded with a 16-4 run that featured a pair of Bryant layups and a Tingle 3-pointer. When Walston capped the run with a 10-footer, Tech led 44-30.
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