After a six-day break for the Motor City Cruise, they were back at it to face the Delaware Blue Jackets. The Cruise, winners of four in a row and seven of their last ten, would look to see if they could keep playing some of their best ball at the right time of year.
No Rust Here
Both teams showed no signs of being off for six days as the two picked up a solid offensive pace early on. Motor City held a 17-15 lead at the midway point of the quarter led by hot-shooting Buddy Boeheim. Delaware put together a run that gave them a 23-17 lead over the next couple of minutes. The Cruise would get going again as they would take a 38-35 lead into the second quarter. Delaware had their offense humming early led by Louis King (11 points), former Cruise player Braxton Key (7 points) and Jaden Springer (7 points). Sharp-shooting Boeheim finished with 18 to lead Motor City. Jaylen Johnson pitched in 8 points to help the Cruise in the early going.
Motor City would cling to a one-point lead at the halfway point of the second. Michael Foster Jr. would get going to help the Blue Coats keep pace. A 5-0 run would give Delaware a two-possession lead with 4:50 remaining. The Cruise would keep pace the rest of the half, but they would find themselves with some work to do down, 61-68. Foster was big in the quarter with 10 points. Key put up another 7. Kyler Edwards was a spark for the Cruise with 8.
Key Point in the Season
As we come down the stretch of the season, these are the moments when you find out what your team is made of. Motor City would come out and lay it on the Blue Coats early in the third after tying the game up on a 7-0 run. A Jaylen Johnson tip-shot would give the lead back to Motor City with 7:01 to go in the quarter. Delaware would respond in a big way to take a six-point lead after putting together a big 10-3 run. The Cruise would keep things tight the rest of the way but would trail 88-96, heading into the final quarter. Jaylen Johnson really helped his team stay in it as he scored 7 points in the third.
The Blue Coats weren’t going to relinquish the lead easily in this one as Motor City would find themselves down by double-digits midway through the fourth after a Delaware 6-1 run. As we’ve seen time and time again with this Cruise team, they do not let up. The Cruise would put together a 10-5 run to grab some momentum back, and suddenly, we had ourselves a five-point game. With just 2:54 to play, Jaylen Johnson would hit a big three-pointer to cut the Delaware lead to just one.
Then it was Stanley Umude time as he knocked down a 10-footer with just 37 seconds remaining to give the Cruise a one-point advantage. The Motor City defense would come up with a turnover, and Jared Rhoden would flush it home to put the Cruise up three. After a Jared Brownridge missed three-pointer, Motor City would have a chance to put the game on ice. Jaylen Johnson, coming up big yet again, would seal it by knocking down both free throws. Motor City grabs a big win as they show their grit in holding off the Blue Coats, 116-111.
The Numbers
Former Cruise player, Braxton Key, is fitting in nicely with Delaware. Key went for 18 points (7-12 from the field), 12 rebounds and 3 steals. Michael Foster Jr. was big with 18 points of his own to go with 8 rebounds. Louis King really was able to get the Blue Coats offense going, adding 16 points.
Veteran Patrick McCaw led the Delaware bench with 12 points (4-7 from the field). Charlie Brown Jr. was busy off the Blue Coats bench with 10 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Justin Smith finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds.
Slam-dunk Champion Mac McClung struggled shooting on the night, but he dished out 7 assists to help the Delaware offense.
Buddy Boeheim had himself a night to finish with 28 points in leading the Cruise. Jaylen Johnson continues to assert himself, finishing with 24 points (8-13 from the field) and 12 rebounds. Kyler Edwards was a big boost off the Motor City bench with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists.
Jared Rhoden pitched in 20 points and 9 rebounds. The Cruise couldn’t be happier to have Stanley Umude back. Umude, coming off the bench and playing big minutes, poured in 16 points and grabbed 4 rebounds.
Up Next
These two will square off again in just two nights. With the loss, the Blue Coats 5-game winning streak will come to an end. Motor City helped themselves tonight by shutting down Mac McClung and making things hard on Jaden Springer. They’ll have a chance to see if they can do that again when the two meet again. Delaware will fall to 13-6.
The Cruise continue to play solid basketball. They had themselves in a hole tonight that might have been hard to get out of on any other night against one of the best in the league. But with the offense flowing and timely defense, Motor City grabbed momentum in a hurry and came through clutch down the stretch. All of a sudden, the win streak moves to four, and the Cruise are now 10-11 on the season. With losing Devontae Cacok mid-season, David Nwaba being out of action, and now the same with Keifer Sykes, Motor City is still finding ways for other guys to step up.
