By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher OCEAN CITY — Greg Edelbach knows he may not be in the starting lineup for the Atlantic City High School basketball team in a month after three transfers become eligible. But after being cut from the team last year, the 6-foot-3 senior is just happy to be out there on the floor for the Vikings. Edelbach was all over the floor, grabbing rebounds and making steals, as his intensity fueled a strong defensive effort that led the Vikings past last year’s South Jersey Group 3 champion, Delsea Regional, 54-50 on Saturday night at the Ocean City PBA Tipoff Weekend. “That’s what coach Allen preaches every day, defense, 100 percent, all the time. The offense will work itself out, it’s all about defense,” Edelbach said. “Last night was my first game on varsity. It’s fun just playing basketball. I’ve never played on varsity, the crowd, it was so much fun. It’s all new to me.” “I thought Greg Edelbach was the key to the whole game,” said Atlantic City coach Gene Allen. “He does a lot of things that don’t show up in the box score.” 
Senior Greg Edelbach scored eight points and had a huge impact on the defensive end as Atlantic City topped Delsea Regional 54-50 on Saturday at the Ocean City PBA Tipoff Weekend tournament. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) Atlantic City trailed 20-19 at halftime as Delsea’s Dan McDuffie carried the load with the Crusaders’ top player, Keith Braxton, missing most of the game after suffering what appeared to be a hip injury early in the first quarter. McDuffie finished with a game-high 28 points and hit six 3-pointers. The Vikings had a much more balanced scoring attack, as Lamar Thomas led the way with 16 points, Kevin Allen chipped in 13 and Jamir Prevard added 11. Edelboch finished with eight, and Laceon Redfurn added four. “We have weapons. We have Jamir and he has crazy athleticism,” Edelbach said. “That’s what everyone is, we have athleticism, we have hustle and we have heart. I’m not worried about (my stats). I just bring up the team, that’s what I try to do. I try to bring everyone else’s energy up.” Atlantic City turned up the heat defensively in the third quarter and built a 35-27 lead when Prevard slammed home a dunk off an Edelbach steal with a minute left in the third quarter. A 3-point play by Kevin Allen early in the fourth made it 40-28, but Delsea chipped away in the final minute with a couple of big threes. McDuffie nailed a three to cut the lead to 52-47 and Greg Avis hit another with less than 3 seconds to go to make it 54-50, but the Vikings ran out the clock on the ensuing inbounds play. 
Atlantic City’s Jamal Williams defends Delsea’s Kaleb Morton during the Vikings’ win over the Crusaders on Saturday night. “We just wanted to play aggressive defense and get turnovers, no hand-checking, and get the ball inside,” said Thomas, a junior who is playing point guard to start the season. “We weren’t nervous, we just had to keep our heads. We got a little confused out there, but we’re going to build up as the season goes on.” Coach Allen said he’s not taking too much confidence out of an early season win, but said he did like the way Kevin Allen controlled the paint. “We’re definitely a work in progress. I’m satisfied for right now,” Gene Allen said. “(Kevin) needs to get into a little better shape, but we’re hoping he’s going to be a force for us, at least until we get three transfers (eligible). So we’re hoping he can hold it down until then.” “He’s a dominant player. He’s a big part of our team. When he gets the ball, we trust him with everything he does,” Thomas said. “We’re playing well, but we can get much better. It was a good test, but I feel as though we were a better team than them. We proved tonight that we are a better team when we do what we are capable of doing.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]
Edelbach’s hustle leads Atlantic City to 54-50 win over Delsea at Ocean City PBA Tipoff Weekend
