The Delaware Blue Coats and Westchester Knicks met for their second straight affair on Sunday afternoon in a game that saw the Blue Coats get their second win of the season by a score of 131-125. The home team scored 40 points in a pivotal third quarter to build a lead that would prove to be just insurmountable enough in the end.
Adem Bona was an early bright spot for the home team. He controlled the initial pace of the game with strong hands on the defensive end of the floor and graceful rim running on the offensive end. With a little more refining, it is not hard to envision him as the Sixers’ backup center of the future on the main roster. He has a lot of Clint Capela and Derek Lively II in his game.
Jeff Dowtin Jr. and Lester Quinones were the best players in the opening frame. Dowtin made good use of his athleticism and on-ball skills to create constant penetration for points at the rim. His most impressive of such attempts came on a floater for an and-one opportunity after beating his man off the dribble. Quinones came out of the gate unafraid to fire, draining two three-point shots on four attempts and finishing with 11 points in the first.
Every player with real NBA experience made an impact early. Along with the aforementioned Quinones, TJ Warren, and Darius Bazley traded three-pointers on consecutive possessions, and Chuma Okeke had a really strong finish at the cup over Adem Bona. The quarter ended with the Blue Coats earning a 35-31 lead thanks to two Patrick McCaw steals in the final twenty seconds that both led to two buckets; one by Marcus Bagley and one by Adem Bona.
Adem Bona started the second quarter very similarly to the first: by wreaking havoc on both ends of the floor. He had multiple finishes on the inside and was altering every shot at the rim after showcasing a very impressive pogo-stick block. Add in a few timely buckets from Judah Mintz, and the Blue Coats were able to grow their first comfortable lead.
Dowtin Jr. and Quinones continued their strong play in the second quarter as well, combining for 17 of the Blue Coats’ 28 points in the quarter and allowing them to extend their lead to double-digits going into halftime. The two combined for 33 points in the half, which proved crucial as the Blue Coats lost the offensive rebounding battle by nine and the second-chance points battle by 11 in the first half.
The halftime break was apparently not long enough for Quinones’s shooting stroke to go cold. He came out so hot in the third quarter that the Westchester Knicks started trapping him with double-teams as soon as he crossed half-court. Before the quarter was even halfway through, Quinones had tallied eight points and two assists- one of which was a great find out of one of those double-teams for a Jeff Dowtin Jr. three-pointer.
Inspired minutes off the bench from Judah Mintz, Patrick McCaw, and Isaiah Mobley helped the Blue Coats continue extending their lead to 22 points heading into the final quarter. Getting off more shots from distance was a clear emphasis, as the Blue Coats doubled up their attempts and makes from the first half in just the third quarter alone.
Asked about the message at halftime, Blue Coats head coach Mike Longabardi said, “We always want to get a high-quality shot. We want the rim, we want threes, and we want to get to the free-throw line. That has always been our philosophy from day one, and it will never change.”
Quinones and Bona flashed a developing two-man game as the game went on. The two connected in pick-and-roll and in transition for thunderous Bona slams on multiple occasions. Quinones was a steady contributor on the Golden State Warriors last season and is still just 24 years old. He too could factor into the Sixers’ future bench plans along with Bona, especially as their chemistry with one another grows.
With the game nearly in hand following the third, the Blue Coats let their guard down and allowed the Westchester Knicks to climb back in. The home team got called for an unacceptable technical foul for having too many players on the court. On their next offensive possession, they committed a shot clock violation. Those miscues led to six quick and easy Knicks points that allowed them to cut their deficit to 9 with just half a quarter remaining.
The ugly play continued after that. Justin Edwards fouled TJ Warren on a three-point attempt that was at least eight feet behind the arch. Luckily for Delaware, Warren missed the one-for-three free throw, but Knicks’ sharpshooter, Alex O’Connell, was there to get those three points back on the next trip down.
Another Blue Coats’ bad possession led to another O’Connell bucket which cut the lead to five with three minutes to play. Then Justin Edwards, who had a very quiet game by his standards, was able to restore some order down the stretch. He came up with a crucial steal in the paint, and a few possessions later deposited back-to-back layups to stop the bleeding.
The usual suspects then finally came back to life to seal the deal on the Blue Coats’ victory. Jeff Dowtin Jr. and Adem Bona both came up with huge buckets in the closing minutes, and Lester Quinones had a key defensive rebound and clutch free throws to ensure that the Westchester Knicks never had a chance to tie or take the lead. It was closer than it should have been when time expired, but showing they can fight through adversity is a hallmark of any successful basketball team.
Up next for the Blue Coats
Their next matchup is on the road against the Charlotte Hornets‘ affiliate, Greensboro Swarm.
