Caroline’s Vondel Green maneuvers around a King George opponent. (Photos by Dawn Haun)
By Scott Richards
CP Correspondent
The Cardiac Cavaliers, aka the Caroline High School boys varsity basketball team, were at it again last Friday night suffering what has become an habitual dry second quarter on their way to defeating the King George Foxes 70-60.
Finishing out the first quarter with a 17-13 advantage—and looking strong with their signature press and Vondell Green laying up two three-pointers—Caroline stayed on the bench during the second quarter and allowed King George to dominate them with a 19-6 run. During the second quarter, King George did as they pleased, giving their powerhouse, Nana Djan, a chance to show off as he drove to the basket with little or no defense displayed from the Caroline team.
Going into the locker room at the half, the Foxes were feeling pretty confident with the score in their favor 32-23.
The second half began much like the second quarter, but not for long. Caroline finally came off the bench and went into a zone defense that seemed to bewilder and frustrate King George. Djan in particular began missing easy layups and the Foxes started fouling, putting Caroline in an early bonus situation from the charity stripe.
Four Cavaliers came back in the second half with a vengeance. Green, Darius Young, Mark Loving and AJ Derricott owned the floor, all scoring in double figures. Loving’s free-throw performance put the icing on the cake, hitting 10 of 14 to add to his total of 18 for the night.
CHS’s Mark Loving charges down the court.
Green’s ball handling kept King George at bay in the second half as he twisted and turned through and around the Foxes’ defense, ending up with 14 points. Darius Young continued to be a serious scoring threat with 17 points, while AJ Derricott made his presence known, scoring 12 points in spite of exiting the game in the third quarter with foul trouble. Deandre Christopher proved very capable as Derricott’s replacement. Friday night gave the fans a taste of what everyone hopes to see in Christopher next year after Derricott graduates.
When the subject of comparing the second half to the first half came up in a post-game interview, Caroline Coach Antoine Johnson grinned and said, “I told them if they didn’t come out here with some more intensity, they were going to have to run the whole next practice, and they hate to run. We had a combination on the floor I have a lot of confidence in. AJ, Mark, Vondell, and Darius all were in double figures. When that happens, things look good.”
“We (Derricott, Young, and Loving) got together at halftime and had a talk,” stated Derricott. “We are captains of the team, so we had to go out there and do the things we were supposed to do.”
This win gives Caroline a sweep of King George this season.
On Monday, the Cavaliers are scheduled to host the Spotsylvania Knights in hopes of completing the second sweep of the season. Spotsylvania comes to Milford with high-scoring Carter back on the roster to help out senior point guard Bilal Marlowe. On the flip side, when Caroline last played the Knights, guard Vondell Green was not in the line-up.
Monday’s game pits Green against Marlowe and the Cavalier big men against Carter.
Friday, Caroline travels to James Monroe, seeking the second win of the season against the Yellow Jackets.
Feb. 9, the Cavaliers are scheduled to host the Courtland Cougars, with Caroline looking to avenge a 48-40 loss at the beginning of January.
Tuesday of next week has the Cavaliers traveling to Chancellor for the final game of the season prior to the playoffs.