Chichester’s Hamza Clay, left, and Interboro’s Sean Thomas go for a loose ball Tuesday night in a Del Val League game won by the Eagles. (Pete Bannan – MediaNews Group)
By Matthew DeGeorge
As the shots continued not to fall and the deficit on the scoreboard persisted Tuesday night, Hamza Clay and his Chichester basketball teammates dug into their bag of solutions.
Problem-solving on the fly has become a thing for the Eagles, after losing the vast majority of production from last year’s states-qualifying squad. Through 16 games, they’ve handled the challenges at a .500 level.
But trailing at halftime to Interboro, whom Chichester had only beaten by two points in the first matchup, probably wasn’t envisioned among those challenges. Though when confronted with it on home court, Clay and company found a solution.
Chi turned up its defense to force 12 of the Bucs’ 30 turnovers in the third quarter, and Clay led a dogged rebounding and defensive effort in finally overcoming the greatly improved Bucs, 74-60.
The final score line will flatter the Eagles (9-8, 3-2 Del Val). This was a one-point game through three quarters, until the Eagles’ shooting awakened to go 12-for-18 from the field in the fourth, including makes on seven of the first nine attempts.
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