Home Local Sports Archmere boys climb out of early hold to defeat Tatnall

Archmere boys climb out of early hold to defeat Tatnall

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Darren DiRenzo drives the baseline for the Auks in the first half. He finished with 28 points. (The Dialog/Mike Lang)

GREENVILLE – Archmere overcame a sluggish first half, putting on a dominating performance in a 60-47 win over Tatnall in boys basketball on Jan. 11. It was the Auks’ third straight win.

The Auks literally could not hit a shot in the first quarter. They were plagued by turnovers and managed just two free throws, both by Ty Brinker, as Tatnall scored the first eight points on the way to a 14-2 lead after one.

Archmere’s Jamil Comeger finds teammate Louis Rosato with a pass early in the Auks’ game at Tatnall. (The Dialog/Mike Lang)

Archmere’s starting five spent much of the second quarter watching from the bench, and Tatnall added to its lead. The Hornets’ LJ Phillips slipped behind the Auks’ defense for an easy layup early on, and Robert Secundy added a field goal with 4:01 to go to put the Hornets up, 18-2.

Brinker hit two more free throws with 3:05 to go before halftime for the Auks’ first points of the quarter. They didn’t make their first field goal of the afternoon until nearly a minute later. It was a three-pointer by Darren DiRenzo, who would add another six points in the second. The Hornets still held a 25-14 lead at the break.

A different Archmere team showed up for the second half. Jamil Comeger scored on an early up-and-under, and after DiRenzo took a charge – which knocked him out of the game for a brief period – Will Schatzman laid one off glass to cut the deficit to seven. Comeger stole a pass and scored in transition, and a three by Tim Rogers wrapped up a quarter-opening nine-point run.

Ty Brinker shoots for the Auks.

The Auks tied the game at 26 on an old-fashioned three-point play by Brinker, and Louis Rosato gave the visitors their first lead of the afternoon when he drilled a three-pointer. The Auks stretched the lead to four, but Phillips beat the buzzer with a three-point shot to make it 34-33 heading into the final stanza.

The Auks came out strong in the fourth quarter, finally putting some distance between themselves and the Hornets. A nice backdoor pass to Rosato put the Auks ahead, 38-33, and Rogers added two more when he stole the inbounds pass and laid it in. Two DiRenzo free throws extended the lead to nine.

Archmere would seal the game at the free throw line. DiRenzo would shoot 14 free throws in the fourth quarter, and 15 for the game, making 13 of them. All told, the Auks went to the line 22 times in the final quarter and were successful on 18 of them.

DiRenzo led the way for the victors with 28 points. Brinker joined him in double figures with 10, while Rosato added nine. The Auks improved to 8-2; they are off until Jan. 19, when they visit Tower Hill for a 1:30 p.m. start.

Phillips and Secundy each scored nine for the Hornets. Tatnall (3-5) is on the road Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at St. Andrew’s.