BY ANDREW FAISON/CONTRIBUTING WRITER
andrew.faison@tidewaternews.com

NORFOLK—Local man Keith Doyle was happy he didn’t have to travel far to watch his son Nick play college hoops Tuesday night.

Having only to travel as far as Norfolk to see Nick Doyle play for Delaware State, was a nice change of pace for Keith.

“We have made some trips this year and put some miles behind us this season,” Keith stressed. “It was fun to see him playing in the tournament.”

Keith remembers the Dec. 15 weekend in particular, when he was able to watch both of his sons play.

“We were able to drive to see Will play at Penn State-Harrisburg on Friday night,” he said. “Then we woke up and drove an hour or so to see Nick play against Penn State.”

Keith Doyle joked with other parents at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament game Tuesday about being able to go home, with only a one-hour drive, after the game.

“I think they were a little bit jealous about that,” he laughed.

Nick Doyle, a Southampton High School graduate, added to his season total playing time of 99 minutes, after playing two minutes during the Hornets 73-61 win in the first round of the MEAC tournament over Howard University Tuesday.

Nick Doyle was put into the game with 12:33 left in the first-half after the Hornets opened the game with a 13-0 run.

“We are definitely a young team and we want to continue to improve,” said DSU Head Coach Greg Jackson. “What is important is to have our younger players come play in this kind of atmosphere and gain the experience.”

The 6-foot-4 freshman guard has played in 15 of Delaware States’ 31 games. He also while scored a season high 10-points, including two 3-pointers, in the Hornets’ 95-46 win over Cairn University.

“The coaches have brought Nick along during the season,” Keith Doyle said. “One night he played for 22 minutes. And he is good friends with all of his teammates, especially Casey Walker from Brunswick, they kidded around after the game talking about Nick’s car.”

Nick is on an academic and athletic scholarship that covers half of his tuition, while he studies Movement Science.

“It is mainly an academic scholarship,” his father explained. “He’s just any student going to class — he had a 3.8 GPA after his first semester.”

Nick maintains his GPA while traveling with his team to locations such as St. Thomas in the Caribbean, where he played in a tournament over the Thanksgiving holiday.

“Nick has always been the type that wants to be on the go and experience life,” his father said. “He doesn’t want an opportunity to pass him by.”

During his high school career, Nick Doyle led the Indians in scoring his last three years. As a senior, Doyle shot 47 percent from the field and averaged 16.9 points per game. Also while playing at SHS, he was named to the All-District First Team three times, District Player-of-the-Year during senior season, two-time All-Region First Team and 2011 All-State Second Team.

The Hornets’ second game of the MEAC tournament was Thursday against Hampton University. Results of that game were not available by press time.

“We are looking forward to Thursday’s game and getting to possibly see him play again,” Keith Doyle concluded.