The Delaware 87ers took down the Grand Rapids Drive 118-100 in a game where Delaware was in full control for most of the game. This is the first road win for the Sevens after four unsuccessful tries earlier in the season.
This was a different Sevens team in this game from the one we seen on the road this season because they did get into a small deficit in the first quarter but they were able climb back and take control of the game for pretty much rest of the afternoon. Usually, this team on the road has not shown that fight.
It all started in the first quarter, where the two teams for a while were just battling it out and switching the lead every other basket. Then around the 7:33 mark, the Drive went on 9-2 run that put the score 15 to 12. Kevin Murphy led the Drive with 4 points doing the early run.
The Sevens would not panic though and went on 9-1 run of their own to take the lead at 3:22 mark, 18-16. Carlos Lopez-Sosa led the Sevens with 4 points, 1 offensive rebound and 1 assist during the run.
Over the last seven minutes of the first quarter the Delaware 87ers would outscore the Drive 17-5 and end the quarter with a 26-20 lead.
The Sevens were feeling the that momentum from the first quarter and hit the first five shots of the second quarter to increase their lead to 37-29. Throughout the quarter, the 87ers would not let Grand Rapids come to close to the lead and would keep on with the hot shooting that they started the quarter with. Sevens biggest lead in the quarter was by 12 points and would close the half with a 60-53 lead.
James Webb III led the Sevens with 10 points in the first half of the game.
Kevin Murphy led the Drive with 20 points in the first half of the game.
Then the third quarter started and there was no stopping these Sevens who went on 14-6 run in the early minutes of the quarter to put them up 71-59. The Sevens were not playing around, they had 6 players in double digits in the third quarter and there was no sign of them slowing down. Sevens biggest lead in the 3rd quarter was by 15. Sevens ended the quarter up 84-70 on the Drive.
The big question for the fourth quarter was could the Sevens close out the game which they have been struggling with recently? Well they answered it clearly by adding a 20 point cushion to their lead with a 92-72 score. The 87ers cruised in the final minutes to a 118-100 win over the Drive.
Three Sevens players had their best scoring performance of the season vs Grand Rapids and they were James Webb III( 19), Von Wafer( 12) and Carlos Lopez-Sosa (14).
Lorenzo Wade and Shawn Long of the Sevens had double-doubles in the game, with Long having 20 points and 15 boards and Wade had 12 points and 10 boards.
Also, the most consistent Sevens Anthony ” Cat” Barber and Dionte Christmas both hit double digits in the game. Barber had 19 and Christmas had 14 points in the win over Grand Rapids.
Sevens with a record of 3-4 on the season take on the Santa Cruz Warriors at the Bob Carpenter Center, Tuesday at 7pm ET.
Player stats:
Stats:
FG%
Sevens: 48%
Drive: 45%
3 Point %
Sevens: 26%
Drive: 43%
Free Throw %
Sevens: 82%
Drive: 88%
Rebounds
Sevens: 53
Drive: 39
Assists
Sevens: 17
Drive: 9
Turnovers
Sevens: 12
Drive: 14
Blocked Shots
Sevens: 1
Drive: 3