Concord Comes Back in Late Win Over Caravel

Concord junior Jordan Dupree makes both late-game free throws to lead the Raiders over the Caravel Buccaneers in the first round of the DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament. (Photo by Rob Tornoe)

Concord junior Jordan Dupree made two free throws with 8.8 seconds left to lift the #18 seed Concord Raiders (18-5) over the defending champion #15 seed Caravel Buccaneers (14-9) 59-57.

Caravel controlled the game early, utilizing their size advantage to jump out to a 20-12 first quarter lead. Despite playing a 1-2-2 zone designed to deny the Buccaneers access to the paint, Concord could not figure out a way to stop Caravel’s low post players, 6’6” senior forward Eric Buckland (19 points) and 6’9” senior center Erique Gumbs (16 points).

When Caravel was not posting up Concord’s defenders, Buckland was stepping out to the perimeter and dropping three-point baskets. Concord did not have much more success on the offensive side of the ball early on, as Gumbs blocked shot after shot, dominating the paint on both sides of the court.

Though Concord had chipped away at Caravel’s lead 31-25 going into half-time, the beginning of the second half seemed to herald much of the same, as Gumbs registered five points and a blocked shot in the first two minutes of the third period. After Caravel senior forward Jake Berry sank a three-point shot with 5:01 left in the third period to extend the Buccaneers’ lead to 41-30, two things began happening that would alter the course of the game.

First, despite Caravel’s success in working in the low post, they began to settle for more and more low-percentage, three point shots. “A poor shot is the same as a turnover,” said Caravel coach Tom Wiley after the game. Not only was Caravel hurting itself with poor decision-making, but the Concord Raiders began to take things into their own hands.

The smaller Raiders used their superior team speed and quickness—particularly that of senior point guard Rich Lober (7 points) and sophomore point guard Stephen Saunders—to force the ball down the court on possession after possession. While this did not always result in points, it did result in trips to the foul line as Caravel’s defenders struggled to contest shots from behind.

Caravel started to fall into the trap of playing Concord’s game—forcing the ball up court on their own possessions—which only succeeded in leaving their own big men behind. This resulted in a near complete absence of a half-court offense for the Buccaneers down the stretch. After Concord finally took its first lead of the game, 51-50, with 4:30 left in regulation, both teams vigorously contested each possession, where free throws took on a magnified significance. Concord sophomore guard Keith Yancey (8 points) sank both ends of a one-and-one with :50 left to extend the Raiders’ lead to 57-54.
A costly turnover on Caravel’s next possession was negated when Yancey failed to convert on another one-and-one with :29 seconds left. Caravel was able to set up Buckland on the next play, and the home crowd were electric after he converted a three-point basket to tie the game at 57 with :15 seconds left in regulation. The discretionary nature of the officiating played a crucial role at the end of the game, when a questionable foul call resulted in two converted free throws by Concord junior guard Jordan Dupree (17 points) with only 8.8 seconds left in the game. On the final possession of the game, Caravel’s Buckland received the ball in the low post, but was clearly fouled as three Concord players mobbed him under the basket. There was no call, and time expired.

“You have to give Concord a lot of credit, they finished when they needed to. We were just too sloppy out there today,” said a resigned Wiley after the game.

Concord advances to the second round of the DIAA tournament, where they will travel to play at #2 seed William Penn (18-4). Tip-off is at 1:00 pm on Saturday, March 7th.