For the second season in a row, Smyrna remains standing as one of the final eight teams in the DIAA boys’ basketball tournament.
The No. 12 seeded Smyrna Eagles went on the road and knocked off No. 5 seed Hodgson, 54-44, in a second-round state tournament game on Friday night.
With that victory, Smyrna earned a trip to the Bob Carpenter Center for a state quarterfinal game against No. 4 seed Concord.
Last winter, the Eagles played their quarterfinal game against Caesar Rodney on the Riders’ home court. That game would have been played at the Carpenter Center, but bad weather forced a change in venue.
Now Smyrna’s back in the quarterfinals the year after losing one of the best players in the state, Paul Reynolds.
And now the Eagles will finally get to make their first appearance at ‘The Bob.’
“It’s exciting,” said Smyrna head coach Mike Starkey. “Last year we made it, but the weather knocked us out. To lose an all-stater, and for this group to come back and do it – I’m so proud of these guys.”
Smyrna uses balanced attack to take down Hodgson
By controlling the tempo and getting the ball to their big man, the Eagles were able to slow down a quick, aggressive Hodgson team that entered the game with a 17-3 record.
“We wanted to turn it into a game played in the 40s or 50s instead of the 70s and 80s,” Starkey said.
Smyrna also hit some critical three-point shots down the stretch to seal the deal.
Neither team could gain much of an advantage in a tightly-contested first half that ended with Hodgson leading 24-22.
Smyrna pulled ahead in the third quarter when senior Matt Storck hit back-to-back three-pointers.
Then Andre Gibbs and Chris Oscar each hit threes of their own to close out the quarter.
The Eagles led 38-32 heading into the fourth quarter, but Hodgson quickly cut the lead back down to four.
With less than two minutes to play, Oscar sank a huge three-point shot that put Smyrna up 47-38. On Hodgson’s next possession, Oscar grabbed a loose ball and passed it to Gibbs, who scored on the fast break and made it an 11-point game.
After that, the Eagles were able close it out from the free throw line.
Throughout the game, Hodgson didn’t have an answer for the post play of Bradley Forrest-Jones, who was the game’s leading scorer with 14 points.
