PORTLAND – Rich Henry looks around his locker room and sees a lot of offense.

But what really makes the veteran coach smile is when his players focus on defense.

The Flyers made their coach proud Wednesday, holding Cape Elizabeth to 11 first-half points on their way to a 52-36 victory in a Western Maine Conference boys’ basketball game.

“What I’ve tried to talk about with these guys is that offensively they have some skill but defense is something that doesn’t go away,” Henry said.

“I really try to emphasize with these guys that if they’re going to take a break, take a break on offense. Work hard on defense and the offense will come.”

Waynflete (6-0) kept the Capers (4-3) off-balance from the start. They forced numerous turnovers, gobbled up defensive rebounds and limited Cape Elizabeth’s shooting to the outside.

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Paul Runyambo of Waynflete started what turned out to be a deciding 13-2 run midway through the first quarter with back-to-back buckets for a 7-4 lead. By the midway point of the second quarter, Waynflete enjoyed a 16-6 advantage.

The Flyers outscored the Capers 13-5 in the second quarter for a 24-11 halftime lead.

“We knew it was going to be a hard game and we came out strong and built a 13-point lead by the half,” said Serge Nyirikamba, who scored seven of his game-high 19 points in the second period for Waynflete.

“Our team is not selfish. We all share the ball and get everyone involved in the game. There’s nothing else to it other than playing good defense. That helps us win games.”

Nyirikamba received a number of excellent passes that led to easy layups.

“This team really enjoys passing to one another,” said Henry. “That shows and it’s infectious and we try to promote that.”

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Cape Elizabeth improved on offense in the second half but was unable to make a sustained run. The Capers outscored the Flyers 13-11 in the third quarter but still trailed, 35-24.

Chris Robicheaw and Henry Babcock fueled Cape’s attempted second-half resurgence. After accounting for only two points each in the first half, they added 10 and eight in the second.

“They’re a good team and you have to give credit to them,” said Cape Elizabeth Coach Jim Ray, clearly frustrated by his team’s inability to execute. “They played hard and they played tough. They made shots, they rebounded hard. They did a lot of good things.”

The Flyers took full advantage of a schedule that featured five of their first six games at home, but now will play eight of their final 11 games on the road, putting their defense-first approach to the test.

“We pride ourselves on our defense,” said Henry. “You can go on the road and if you are a defensively sound team, you can play well. I think they’ve taken that to heart.”

 


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