By Peter Vankevich
Overall it was a good weekend for Ocracoke basketball. The school hosted the four-team Holiday Tournament, and both the girls and boys teams made it to the championship game. One player, Sydney Austin, was selected as the most valuable player of the tournament.
Friday evening, both teams beat the Gateway Christian Academy Crusaders (Virginia Beach). In the girls opening game, the Crusaders started tough and held a lead of 18-17 after the first quarter.
The Lady Dolphins got their groove going in the second quarter, scoring 20 points to end the half with a 36-30 lead. The second half was all Dolphins, including some good defense to limit the Crusaders to only four third-quarter points, and rolled on to a 68-43 win. Sydney Austin, off to a great season, scored 28 point and snagged 14 rebounds. Ingrid Contreras had one of her best games of the year, scoring 16 points, and Bricea Moreno added 12.
The boys’ team had little trouble winning their game, 68-49. The Caswell brothers were high scorers, Evin with 20 points and younger brother Liam with 16. Darvin Contreras hit three three-point shots.
On Saturday, the Lady Dolphins lost to First Flight Nighthawks 56-47. Trailing 14-7 after the first quarter and 29-20 at the half, they were not able to catch up to the bigger team the rest of the game. Sydney Austin had another great game with 30 points and 10 rebounds.
The boys were outmatched by the Greenbrier Christian Academy Gators (Chesapeake, Va.) 86-53. Greenbrier made it to the finals by defeating First Flight the night before 85-66. The Gators are a highly talented team with a lot of height and speed. they showed skill at both quick lay-ups and three-point shooting.
Sydney Austin was selected as the girls’ MVP of the tournament and the boys had co-winnners: Gators’ Lordan Hyman and Darius Richmond.
Gwen Austin, the school’s social studies and health teacher, noted that the many off-island visitors she spoke to, including the coaches and players, remarked how much they enjoyed their visit and appreciated the warm welcome they received.
Earlier in the week, the Ocracoke School teams won on the road in conference games. The Lady Dolphins defeated the Perquimans Pirates (Hertford), 59-47. The boys won 70-53.
The next games will be Dec. 15 when both teams travel to take on the Creswell Tigers.
