After starting the year with a 1-5 record, the Delaware Blue Coats (6-6) have seemingly found their footing after a 101-93 win over the Eastern Division leading Capital City Go-Go (8-4), on Sunday, Dec. 8. The win marks the teams fourth straight. 

“We got off to a slow start but things are clicking,” Max Fiedler said. “We’re finding a good rhythm both offensively and defensively and hopefully we can keep it rolling.”

Ever since the calendar flipped to December, the Blue Coats’ offense has flipped a switch, averaging 124 points per game while shooting over 50 percent from the field and 42 percent from beyond the arc. In November, they hovered around 108 points per game and shot just 43.6 percent from the field and 32.2 percent from three.

Today’s game, however, was a tough, defensive battle. The Go-Go entered the game with a top-12 offense in the league, averaging just over 112 points a contest, but Delaware was able to hold them to just 93 points, despite Capital City shooting nearly 49 percent from the field, thanks in large part to the Coats’ ability to limit second chances opportunities. 

Capital City only tallied nine offensive rebounds, the second-lowest of any opponent so far this year, leading to just 13 second-chance points. Defensive rebounding has been a focus for the Blue Coats during this win streak, as they’ve held teams to just 10 offensive rebounds a game in their last three contests, five less than their season average of 15.

“It was [an emphasis] for sure,” Fiedler said. “Just playing with a lot of good effort and energy and good things will usually fall your way.”

On the flip side of things, it took a while for Delaware’s offense to find their offensive flow, which was spotty at best throughout the afternoon. After going down 11-4 early in the first, the Blue Coats switched to a zone defense, which helped unlock their transition offense. They confused the Go-Go, clogging the passing lanes, forcing turnovers and poor shots, and before you knew it, the Coats, bolstered by a 15-4 run, were out in front and took a five-point lead into the second quarter. 

A poor quarter from the field would ruin any momentum that the Blue Coats had though, as they totaled just 17 points in the next frame. While they were getting the looks they wanted, Delaware struggled to hit on any jump shot. Open or contested, mid-range or three, it didn’t matter, and it was reflected in the shooting totals, as they connected on just 29 percent of their attempts in the quarter.

“One thing that we did a good job of was that we looked to attack matchups,” head coach Mike Longabardi said. “It’s a matchup game and we did a good job of that. I felt like we missed some easy ones… we have to continue to stay aggressive.”

Luckily for the Coats, the defense was able to keep the Go-Go at bay, which was something that could have been said all day, as Capital City entered the locker room just up by one despite Delaware’s poor shooting numbers.

However, during the middle stages of the third, Delaware’s offense completely checked out, going 5:07 without scoring a point. This time, free throw shooting became a problem for the Coats, as they shot just 50 percent (4-8) from the line in the quarter.

Fortunately for the Coats, an unsung hero in the name of Max Fiedler stepped up and helped guide the Coats to the win. Longabardi turned to the 6 ’11 giant with a minute left to go in the third, marking Fiedler’s seventh appearance with the Coats and first since Nov. 30.

“It’s all about being professional, doing your job and controlling the things that you can control,” Fiedler said.

In their first offensive possession with him on the floor, Darius Bazley found Fiedler under the basket to cut the deficit to two, which is where it stayed entering the fourth. Fiedler added four more points, two rebounds, and was +8 in the 7:38 that he gave.

“Just gave him the Coat of the Game,” Longabardi said. “He’s a professional. He kept himself ready so you gotta give him a lot of credit for that and that’s what professionals do. We’re really, really proud of him.”

Now, just like how it was for the last three quarters, the two teams were trading blows. Delaware finally grabbed control of the lead, this time for good, after Justin Edwards nailed his fourth triple of the night to give the Coats an eight-point advantage with 6:46 to go. Capital City refused to go down without a fight though, as they cut the lead to four, but the Blue Coats were able to score on five of their last six possessions to ice the game.

“We’re just trying to get better each and every day, each and every game,” Longabardi said. “That’s been our mantra – reaching our potential. It’s great to come back and put it together because I didn’t think we played our best game but we still found a way to win.”

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