Sports

Gloucester Dukes Tussle with Denbigh Patriots

Reporter Kimberly Sweeney

On Friday night of January 10th, the Gloucester Dukes Varsity Basketball team faced off against the Denbigh Patriots, in a long struggle that would sadly end in the defeat of the Dukes.

Right from the beginning of the game, the Patriots were playing a full-court press. The Dukes would get possession back for a split second before having it snatched away. Most of the first quarter was played in the Patriots half of the court. The score for the first quarter ended with the Dukes having 6 and the Patriots with 16.

Along with the beginning of the game, the Patriots started the second quarter with possession. However, Dukes number 11, Isaiah Lester, came in at second quarter and stole two three-point shots for the Dukes. Later on he scored another 3-pointer, but after that, the Patriots caught on to his game. By the second period, the Dukes had 18 to the Patriots 33.

In the third quarter, the Dukes started with possession. A lot of points were scored this period, a fair amount going to number 3 on the Dukes, Jayden Whiting. He also scored more in the fourth quarter, and ended the game with 12 points all to his own credit. After the third quarter, the score was the Dukes with 26 and the Patriots with 52.

The fourth and final quarter was an interesting one. The Dukes had eight points and the Patriots ended with 10. Jacob Woods, number two for Gloucester, got a technical foul and watched the rest of the frantic quarter from the sideline. The most points were scored in the final quarter, thus ending the game with the Dukes having 42 and the Patriots having a 72, exactly 30 points ahead. Regardless, it was a rough and fast game that the Dukes could only pull their weight in.

Player number four on the Patriots, Dershon Ormon the starting freshman, certainly helped the game tip in Denbigh’s favor, having scored 18 points all to himself. Each was a three-pointer.

Another intriguing point of the game was the ‘sound war’ between each team’s cheerleaders. It began with Denbigh, their cheerleaders being loud with their stomps as per normal. However, Gloucester’s Lady Dukes took this as a challenge to become louder. It evolved into the cheerleaders who were not stomping on the floor stomping in the stands to increase noise level. There was no clear winner, but it was quite a sight to see, not to mention something for the ears.

In the end, it was a high-strung game for everyone but the fans, and despite the obvious effort, Denbigh’s Patriots were the ones who walked out victorious.