Salesianum boys basketball Justin Hinds attempts a three pointer against Sanford, photo courtesy of Nick Halliday
The 3rd game of the DIAA boys’ basketball quarter finals round kicked off to a fast start Saturday afternoon as both teams seemed unfazed by the capacity crowd. The home team, Salesianum, turned tough half court defense into easy baskets at the offensive end as Sanford struggled to stop the ball in transition. Despite the strong effort by the Warrior starters, they continued to look out of sorts offensively with most offensive possessions resulting in a turnover or a off balance, low percentage shot. Coach Hart would change to a 2-3 zone late in the first quarter to try to instill some confidence in his players. 14-8 Sallies going into the second quarter.
Sanford settled down in the next frame. Dropping into a 2-2-1 full court press halfway through the quarter slowed down Sallies in transition and seemed to give the away team some much need confidence. Sallies on the other hand continued to find the open shooters and knock down a barrage of 3 point shots to maintain a 4 point lead with 3:57 to go before half. A number of physical but clean fouls at both ends brought the level of emotion in the gym to the high point of the half. Sallies seemed to benefit the most from the intensity, taking a 30-21 lead into halftime. Thomas led all scorers with 14 points while senior Jordan Spencer led Sanford with 8.
Nether team appeared to make many adjustments coming out of halftime. Sallies continued to be patient offensively, hitting the open cutter and drawling fouls. Coach Trevisan’s use of his bench proved beneficial through 3 quarters as the home team saw no drop off in play going to their bench while the Warriors’ energy level seemed to wean. 40-32 after three quarters.
With 5:04 to go in the game, Sanford found themselves down only 2 points. The Warriors would claim the momentum for the first time all game, competing with a sense of urgency and conviction that didn’t exist up until this point.
With the clock continuing to run and Sallies top scorer, Thomas, on the bench with 4 fouls, Sanford would come out of a timeout down 46-42 with 50.8 seconds to go. But 4 straight free throws by Sallies leading scorer Kareem Thomas would push the lead to 7 and close out the game, sending Sallies to the quarter finals on Thursday evening at University of Delaware. Despite sitting out most of the 3rd quarter in foul trouble, Kareem Thomas led all scorers with 18 points while Sanford’s Jordan Spencer led the Warriors with 17.
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