On Monday night, The Delaware 87ers were saying “Home Sweet Home” after their comeback 116-111 win vs the Greensboro Swarm. With the win the Sevens snap a 2 game losing streak and remain undefeated at home (2-0).

Monday’s win was not a pretty win but after the lackluster first half, the Sevens were able to outscore the Swarm by 15 in the second half for the comeback win.

It all started in the first quarter where the Swarm started off hot and at one point were up by 12 points on the Sevens. Greensboro never lost the lead in the 1st quarter ending it up 35-25. Greensboro’s hot hand in first quarter was Guard Xavier Munford who scored 14 of his 34 points in the quarter alone. The 87ers did no favors for themselves by turning over the ball six times in the quarter.

The Swarm continued their dominance in the 2nd quarter over the Sevens by leading at one point by 20 points. The Sevens were able to cut the lead down to 10 by halftime with the score being 64-54.  87ers Forward Lorenzo Wade contributed 11 points in the Sevens 2nd quarter comeback.

Now in the third quarter the tide began to turn after the Swarm had a 15 point lead at one point in the quarter, the Sevens locked down after that. Sevens outscored the Greensboro Swarm 29-27 in the quarter and forced 5 turnovers. The 87ers had finally trim down the lead to single digits for the first time since the first quarter with the score being 91-83.

87ers Head coach  Eugene Burroughs liked what he saw out of his players in the second half after a sloppy first.

“I think our first half was such a lackluster defensive effort,” Head Coach Eugene Burroughs said. “We had to come out and just play harder and tougher and play with some more emotion, and I think as the game got going in the second half, you could see James Webb III getting the deflection and (Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot) getting the steal just lifted us emotionally.”

The fourth quarter was all Sevens and they outscored the Swarm by 13 points in the quarter. Another factor was the 87ers were hitting their shots with a 54.6 % field goal percentage in the quarter. Unlike, the Swarm who only hit 36.4% of their shots in the quarter.

Center Shawn Long lead the way for the Sevens comeback win today with 30 points, 8 rebounds ( 4 offensive, 4 defensive),  3 blocked shots and 7 for 8 at the free throw line.

Sevens Head coach Eugene Burroughs said this about Long’s big day:

“He was great. I think he actually needed to have a good game,” Burroughs said. “His last two games I think he’s been OK for us. He’s a talented kid. He can score. We’ve been focusing on him defensively, just getting better. I think he needed to see the ball go into the basket today and he had a great game. We needed every point that he gave us.”

Guard Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot made his debut for the Sevens today and he had 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and was 3 for 3 at the free throw line. Philadelphia 76ers sent the first round pick down to the Sevens to get some playing time.

“That was a good team win,” Luwawu-Cabarrot said  of the Monday’s win. “We locked up on defense and that’s great. I like that. Personally, I felt a little bit shy. I tried to be a more unselfish player.”

Sevens Head Coach  Burroughs seemed really impressed from what he saw from Luwawu-Cabarrot in Monday’s win.

“To have Tim today was a great help for us. It gave us another live body, an athlete that played hard. For him to make plays down the stretch is going to help him when he goes back to the Sixers.”

Luwawu-Cabarrot was not the only player to make his debut on Monday night,  Naadir Tharpe also made his first appearance in a Sevens uniform in the win. Tharpe had 11 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds ( 3 defensive).

Sevens Head Coach Burroughs was glad to see Tharpe do so well with not a lot playing time.

“I think he gave us another ball-handler,” Burroughs said. “One of the things we’ve been missing is a third ball-handler. With Cat being out, having Tharpe in today was great. It kind of settled us down a little bit and he played a great game for a guy that hasn’t played.”

One of the players who crucial for the Sevens comeback, James Webb III had 17 points, 11 rebounds ( 4 offensive, 7 defensive), 1 assist, 2 steals, and 3 block shots.

Again, Sevens Head coach Burroughs could not stop raving about Webb and the effort he puts out on the court.

“I thought his energy and effort was tremendous,” Burroughs said. “That save down the stretch is the play that James Webb III makes. That’s why he’ll have a chance, eventually, to hopefully play in the NBA because he’s athletic, he can shoot the ball and he just plays with energy.”

The Delaware 87ers go to 2-2 record on the season and get a long break after playing 3 games in 4 days. Sevens head to Chicago Saturday to face the Windy City Bulls.