MUNCIE, IN- Tuesday night's matchup between Daleville (0-2) and Delta (2-0) was a clash between inter-county teams. The Broncos were without their star point guard, and leading returning scorer, senior Meryck Adams. This would prove to be vital as Delta went on to win the game 76-35.

“Losing Meyrick changes a lot for us offensively and defensively,” Daleville head coach Ashley Fouch said. “He’s one of our captains and a leader out there, so it’s a big loss.”

For the Eagles, it was a fast start, as only a mere three seconds went by until they had scored their first bucket of the game. The game plan seemed clear. Push the pace and keep Daleville on their heels defensively. 

This was nothing new to the Eagles as it was something they worked on heavily in preparation for the game.

“At practice, all we did was work on transition and [being able] to get up the floor,” Senior D’Amare Hood said. “That’s going to be a big key for us to be successful this year.”

Hood was successful when it came to scoring in the lane and seemingly could get whatever he wanted. During the offseason, he wanted to change his game and has been successful in doing so. 

“Last year I was primarily a three-point guy and didn’t get many paint shots,” Hood said. “It’s been a big emphasis from my coaches”

Daleville seemed rattled by the pace and pressure being put on by the blue and gold, scoring only three points in the first quarter. The early effort from the Broncos seemed to be lacking, and at times looked like no one wanted to take control. 

“The effort we showed tonight wasn’t the greatest, so I want to move on [from this one],” Fouch said.

Delta never took their foot off the gas pedal as they continued to dominate defensively with multiple steals and getting out on fast breaks. A big part of the Eagles’ defense was senior Jonny Manor.”

“When Jonny’s out front, they struggle to get shots early,” Detweiler said. “They struggle to get their offense going because of the ball pressure [he puts on].”

Despite the loss, there seems to be good leadership even without Adams. Coming into the season, junior Noah Colvin and senior Koleman Newsome were named captains for the Broncos and were forced to step up.

Neither one left the floor for a second of the game as Fouch relied heavily on them throughout.

“They’ve been leading our team,” Fouch said. “Their leadership is huge for me. They carry our team and I think they did well tonight. They just need a little bit more help.”

On the opposing bench, the Eagles got a lot of help from multiple players. The balanced scoring was a big component of their dominant victory.

“We know we’ve got good players,” Detweiler said. “Jackson [Wors], D’Amare, you can go down the list. We’ve got depth and we’ve got guys coming off the bench who can play.”

This loss for Daleville is being used as a learning experience. Fouch wanted to see what the team could do against a high-quality opponent such as Delta. 

“I told them you’ve got to re-evaluate yourself,” Fouch said. “Tonight was a good learning experience and they needed it. I wanted to see what we were going to do against good competition, but we’ve got more work to do.”

Delta will travel to Centerville (0-2) for their next game on December 2nd, tip-off is set for 7:30. Daleville will be back at home for a conference game against Monroe Central (0-2) on December 1st at 7:30.

Contact David Moore with comments at david.moore@bsu.edu or on X @gingninj63

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