Dialog reporter
BEAR – St. Mark’s had gone through five of the most difficult minutes of their season at the opening of the third quarter of their game Jan. 29 at Caravel. The Spartans were bit by the turnover bug, losing possession the first six times they had the ball after halftime. The Buccaneers took advantage, turning a halftime tie into an eight-point lead, then holding on for a 43-30 nonconference boys basketball win.
St. Mark’s had a chance to tie at the buzzer, but the Spartans were unable to get a shot off following a missed free throw by Caravel.
The teams were tied at 16 at halftime, but it didn’t take long for Caravel to put some distance between themselves and the Spartans. After Mandela Montgomery hit an early field goal, the Buccaneers began to take advantabe of the St. Mark’s miscues. A free throw by Nyahnquoi Togbanyahn, O’koye Parker’s first three-point shot and a field goal by Dwayne Earl finished the eight-point run to open the third. St. Mark’s finally regained its composure, and Matthew Tynes hit a short jumper on a follow shot with 4:15 to go in the third to end the Bucs’ streak.
Down 31-25 after three, the Spartans applied their own defensive heat in the fourth as they scrambled to get back into the contest. Zach Palmer cut the deficit to 31-28 with a three, but the Spartans still committed too many turnovers, and Caravel’s lead stood at six, 37-31, late in the fourth.
St. Mark’s Billy Sullivan stole an inbounds pass and found Palmer for another triple to make it 37-34 Bucs with just 1:24 to go. After another steal, Sullivan hit a layup, and it was a one-point game.
Parker responded with an old-fashioned three, and a few possessions later, Chris Ludman drove the baseline for St. Mark’s for a 40-38 Buccaneers lead. Parker drained two free throws, and Ludman again scored along the baseline with 6.8 seconds on the clock.
Caravel’s Matthew Sengphachanh made the first of two free throws in the final seconds to push the lead to three, and the Bucs bottled the Spartans up in to prevent an attempt to send the game to overtime.
Ludman led the Spartans with 11 points, while Palmer added nine on a trio of three-point shots. St. Mark’s (8-4) begins a three-game homestand on Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. when Caesar Rodney visits.
Caravel got a game-high 17 points from Parker and eight from Earl. The Buccaneers won their third straight to improve to 9-3; they will travel to Middletown on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. tip.
