SICILY ISLAND — A rim-rattling dunk from Block High School’s Terris Evans literally broke the rim, and the comeback efforts of Delta Charter, in Block’s 68-52 win in the Sicily Island tournament.

After facing a deficit most of the game, that reached double-digits multiple times, Delta Charter was able to claw back into the contest multiple times. However, the Storm ran out of steam late in the fourth quarter.

“I don’t want to blame it on the break because both teams had a break, but we were sluggish,” Delta Charter head coach Ron Ellis said. “But, they came out and played better than I thought they would. Block is a decent team, but they weren’t as good as I thought they were. They are beatable, and I think they took us for granted. I think some of the players on our team thought they were better than they were.”

Block jumped out to an early lead, controlling just about every aspect of the game. Ellis said his team was more than likely intimidated when first taking the court.

“I think they were,” he said. “We’ve got a couple of guys from Jonesville, so they know all those guys. They have a good guard and the big guy down low is smart, but other than that, they are beatable. We just killed ourselves.”

It took the Storm a quarter to settle into the game, but when they did, they were able to give the Bears all they could handle.

Trailing 17-8 after the first quarter, Delta Charter was able to scratch back into the game and cut the lead to 23-18.

However, just like it would happen later on in the game, the Storm was unable to hold the momentum, allowing Block to make a run and secure their hold on the lead.

“I think it came down to youth,” Ellis said. “We would come down rushing things and make bad passes trying to be fancy. We didn’t make layups, and that stuff will deflate you really quick. That is just stuff we have to grow into. We are young, a lot of 9th and 10th graders.”

The closest the Storm would come within reach of the lead was in the third quarter, when the team cut it to 44-41, but Block closed the quarter on a 8-0 run to retain control.

The teams would trade baskets early in the fourth, but a late run from Block ultimately put the game away.

Ellis said despite the loss, the experience was a good one for his team.

“We can’t go to the playoffs this year, but we are building for next year,” he said. “We want teams to know that they have to be ready for us.”

Daevern Mays and Tut Hatten led Delta Charter with 14 points each, while Anthony Barber and Kendarrius Jones each scored 15 points for the Bears.