DELAWARE – Darren Mickley hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight points during a 22-7 run to help Danville take control on its way to its first win of the season.
Mickley scored a game-high 16 points in the Blue Devils’ 56-33 win at Delaware Christian in non-league play on Saturday, Jan. 9, in Delaware.
There was no sigh of relief by Danville coach Matt Moore after the win, however. The victory just served as proof the team’s hard work is beginning to pay off.
“No, there’s no sigh of relief,” he said. “We’ve gotta keep working. We’ve been telling the boys they’ve been getting better every single game. Every single time, they’re getting better in every aspect of the game.”
Against the Eagles, Mickley had 16 points and three steals, and Wyatt Weckesser added 11 points and three rebounds for the Devils (1-9), who led 25-12 at the break.
Weckesser scored eight of his points during a 13-2 run in the fourth quarter that extended the lead.
Walker Weckesser had nine points and three assists, Kendall Carter had six points and three boards, Spencer Payne scored six points and added two assists and two rebounds, Max Payne had five points and four helpers, Aaron Mezie pulled down six rebounds and Levi Lyons had three rebounds to go with two points for the Devils.
“It was a good team win,” Moore said. “Everybody played, everybody scored, everybody played well offensively and defensively. We executed very well defensively. We had a great game plan going in and all the boys executed it.”
“We don’t really have anyone that’s going to go out and score 40 points,” Mickley said. “So we have to utilize (the) right offense that’s going to get the best result. Every game, we’re slowly getting better, and we see something improving in every game.”
Moore echoed Mickley.
“I don’t think we lean on anybody more than anybody else,” Moore said. “They’re learning how to play together and learning how to execute offensively.”
James Vasek had 12 points and three rebounds; and Nathan Stewart added eight points, three steals and a pair of assists to lead the Eagles (1-5).
Luke Hrynkow had five points, six rebounds and two thefts; and Ryder McCoy had four boards and four steals for DCS, which finished with 11 steals as a team.
Moore points to Danville’s game against East Knox as proof of his team’s improvement.
“Last night was a tough loss at East Knox, and I thought we almost played 32 minutes,” he said. “(Against Delaware Christian), I thought we did a much better job of that. We’re still young; we’re still learning how to play — how to stay focused for 32 minutes. But all those boys are buying in and they’re continuing to get better each game.”
