“I still try to emphasize to take the mid-range shot. I know it’s not the most attractive shot to a lot of people,” Bates head coach Jon Furbush said. “But the dunks certainly get us to play a little harder defensively, and when a 3 goes in it’s a very similar feeling.”
The game was never in doubt for Bates (4-2), which took the lead for good 3:32 into the game on a 3-pointer from Josh Britten. That started a 7-0 run that was punctuated by a steal and a dunk by Malcolm Delpeche, making it 11-5 just over a minute later.
Delpeche’s twin brother, Marcus, threw down a dunk of his own as the Bobcat lead grew to 21-9.
Bates attempted 18 3s in the first half and made an astounding 12 of them — five from Britten. The Bobcats led 49-21 at the break.
“It was nice to see Josh Britten, our senior captain, really let loose and shoot the ball,” Furbush said. “I know he’s been capable of that for three years, and now that he’s healthy he finally let it fly.”
The Monks (3-6) actually attempted one more shot than Bates in the first half, but made only 8 of 31.
Ian Mileikis of Auburn was the most efficient St. Joe’s shooter before halftime, hitting half his four attempts and both foul shots for six points.
Britten nearly out-scored the Monks by himself, piling up 15 points in the first half. Jerome Darling was right behind with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range.
“We’re always shooting with confidence every day in practice, and getting a lot of shots up,” Darling said. “Our coaches are always telling us, if we’re going to shoot it, just shoot it with confidence.”
The 3s that rained down from Bates shooters dried up in the second half, but the Delpeche duo each made another dunk — on back-to-back plays less than five minutes apart — to put the Bobcats up 60-28.
“They’re game-changers,” Furbush said of the junior Delpeche twins.
Bates hit only four 3-pointers after halftime, falling shy of the program single-game record of 19 set in 1990-91, but on 11 fewer attempts.
“Honestly we were trying to get it inside,” Furbush said. “I think we had a major size advantage. We expected a lot of double teams when we got it inside. We knew the kick-out was probably going to be open for 3.”
Mileikis also had a quieter second half than he did the first, missing both shot attempts while making two more free throws. He finished with eight points to go along with six rebounds and four assists.
The blowout win gave Furbush a chance to put 17 different players in the game, with 16 attempting shots and 13 making at least one.
Darling was the high scorer, pouring in 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting — including 5 for 8 from 3-point range. Britten was held scoreless after halftime, while Marcus Delpeche finished with 10 points. Malcolm Delpeche pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.
“It was just a regular night for me,” Darling said. “I just happened to make more shots than I usually do.”
John Crawley led the Monks with 15 points.
The Bobcats have little time to dwell on their emphatic win, as they travel to face NESCAC rival Colby in a non-conference affair Saturday.
“Luckily it’s Colby, so they’re going to get up for that game no matter what,” Furbush said.
wkramlich@sunjournal.com
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