Oracles lose close one at Frontier
By John J. Dunn Contributing sportswriter

Playing the third straight game away from home to start the season Saturday night at Chalmers, Delphi boys' basketball team suffered a disappointing 55-51 loss at the hands of rival Frontier.

It was a closely-played game in which neither team was ever able to open a lead of more than eight points. But Frontier chose the right time to make an 8-4 spurt at the start of the 4th quarter that extended a 40-38 lead at the end of the 3rd to a game-high eight-point lead at 49-41.

The Oracles did fight back to close within two at 53-51 on a Matt Lewis three-pointer with less than a minute to play, but would get no closer as the Falcons converted 3-of-6 free throws in the waning seconds while keeping Delphi scoreless to hold onto the five-point margin of victory.

Despite shooting better than the Falcons from both threepoint range (6-of-19 for 31.6% to Frontier's 5-of-27, 18.5%) and overall (21-48, 43.8% to 21-61, 34.4%), two telling game statistics were the Oracles' 19 turnovers to Frontier's 14 and the Falcons' ability to hunt down 17 offensive rebounds compared to Delphi's 11.

In close games, every possession becomes a critical one and for the Falcons (2-1) to have six extra possessions at their end from offensive boards and another five more from turnovers is a huge advantage.

Delphi (0-3) also made only 3-of-6 freebies while the Falcons scored on 9-of-14. Again, the ability to convert foul shots into points looms large in close games.

The Oracles did come back from a 15-12 1st quarter deficit to take a 4-point lead into the half at 29-25 after receiving inspired play from senior reserves Kyle Bender and Lewis, who accounted for nine of Delphi's 17 2nd quarter points. Michael Myers led the way overall with 10 points at the intermission.

Myers finished with gamehighs of 15 points and five assists, while snaring six rebounds. Kory Banes also had a nice overall game with 12 points on 6-of-10 shooing from the field, along with 6 boards and two blocks.

Lewis and Bender finished with nine points apiece, while Bender and Dustin Oliver each led the Oracles with 7 rebounds. Austin Hawn added four points and Oliver finished with a bucket and two steals.

Friday night at Tipton

Delphi traveled to Tipton on Friday night to take on the State's Class 2A, #8-ranked Blue Devils, led by 6'8" Indiana recruit Derek Elston.

Elston, a junior, who has already committed to IU, was impressive, finishing with game-highs of 23 points and eight rebounds to lead Tipton to a 62-41 victory over the Oracles.

The Blue Devils (3-0) controlled the game from the onset, taking a 17-6 lead at the end of the 1st quarter, extending it to 30-13 at the half and 50-23 by the end of the 3rd.

On the bright side, the Oracles' 41 points were the most scored in a game this season, and the 62 given up to Tipton ties for the fewest the Blue Devils have put on the board in a game this season.

Tipton had previously defeated Tri-Central 85-22 and Clinton Central 62-36, prior to hosting Delphi.

Myers again paced the Oracles in scoring with 10 points, followed by Lewis with seven and Banes and Oliver with six apiece. Oliver led Delphi in rebounds with nine, while Banes added seven boards and five assists.

Justin Snider and Hawn scored five points apiece and Bender added a bucket for two.

JV beats Frontier

Dustin Salyer led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-3 from 3- point range to lead the Delphi JV to a 37-21 victory over Frontier.

The Oracles (2-1) outscored the Falcons 24-11 in the 2nd half to extend their 13-10 lead at the half.

A.J. Erskin added seven points and five rebounds, sharing team-high board honors with Tanner Cripe, Kris Bender and Jo Britt. Bender finished with four points, while Paul Zink added three and Zach Condon two.

At Tipton, the Blue Devil's 6'9" and 6'8" bookend frontline combined for 21 points, 23 rebounds to make things a bit more difficult for the young Oracles in the 48-26 Tipton victory.

Seferino Cervantes was the lone Oracle in double-figures with 10 points, with Cripe adding five and Bender four. Zink led with seven rebounds, while both Cripe and Cervantes added six apiece.

Condon, Britt and Erskin each finished with two points with Zink adding one.

Delphi plays only one game this week, hosting Benton Central on Friday night with the JV starting at 6:30 p.m.