CAMDEN — Caesar Rodney High has bigger goals than simply winning one basketball game.

But the Riders also know that, to get to some of those bigger goals, they’d have to get past rival Dover.

CR took care of that on Friday night, downing the young Senators, 63-51, in Henlopen Conference Northern Division boys’ basketball before a small crowd due to the pandemic.

For the Riders (2-0 North), the win snapped a four-game losing streak over Dover (1-1 North), which has won the division title two seasons in a row. It was the first time CR beat the Senators since Jan. 23, 2018 — which coincidentally came by the exact same score.

“It’s been a long time for us,” said Riders coach Frank Victory. “They’ve had some tremendous basketball teams over the last couple years. … It was a nice win because some of these boys haven’t beaten Dover High since they’ve been in high school.”

Dover was still in the game, trailing only 51-46 on a layup by sophomore Jaheim Harrell (17 points) with 6:33 remaining. The Senators, though, made only two of their final 12 shots as they never got any closer.

CR closed the contest on a 12-5 run which started with back-to-back baskets from Juan Jordan and included a pair of three-pointers from Ryan Carey.

“After the first quarter, our defense was tremendous,” said Victory. “We held them to one shot on possessions. I felt like once we were able to get our defensive stops, that transitioned into offense for us. That got us some good looks at the basket.”

It was a much different style game than the Riders’ opener against Polytech when they put up 95 points. Brycen Williams (15), Carey (14) and Mason Williams (10) all scored in double figures.

“We didn’t shoot the ball as well,” said Victory. “Dover’s defense, you’ve got to credit them. They pressured us and caused us to do things that we didn’t want to do tonight.

“I think it shows our diversity to be able to play different styles of basketball. Even though we like to play up tempo, we can still play a slow, grind-it-out game and find ways to be successful.”

The game was close throughout. In the first quarter, Dover went on a 10-0 run to grab a 10-4 advantage.

The Senators’ lead hit 20-12 when Kendall Adams sank a jumper with 7:46 left in the second quarter.

But Dover’s shooting touch deserted it after that.

The Riders eventually went ahead for good at 29-26 on a three-pointer from Mason Williams with 58 seconds left before halftime. CR was ahead, 31-28, at intermission after Trey Voshell scored just before the buzzer.

The Riders never led by fewer than five points after the first minute of the second half.

“That’s a huge win for us,” said Victory. “Coach (Stephen) Wilson is a tremendous coach. But we’ve got to keep it in perspective.

“It’s only the second game of the season. Teams are going to improve like I hope we’ll improve.”