Home Local Sports Howard edges Salesianum in battle between hardcourt title contenders: Photo gallery

Howard edges Salesianum in battle between hardcourt title contenders: Photo gallery

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Salesianum's Isaiah Hynson stretches to get a shot up over Darius Brown of Howard. Hynson had 19, but the Sals fell, 62-59. Dialog photo/Mike Lang

WILMINGTON — They were turning people away at the doors at 18th and Broom streets on the night of Feb. 19. Inside Salesianum School, one of the boys’ basketball season’s most-anticpated matchups was about to take place as Howard made the short trip to take on the Sals.

Before a highly energized crowd in a postseason atmosphere, the Wildcats established the fast pace they prefer, controlled the rebounding, and pressured the Sals into a number of turnovers on the way to a 62-59 victory.

The Sals entered the fourth quarter with a 44-40 lead after a strange ending to the third. After Darius Brown got free for a baseline dunk with just a few seconds left, Salesianum’s Justin Molen fired a desperation shot from well behind halfcourt. The shot was short, but Molen was fouled, and he hit all three free throws to give the Sals the four-point advantage.

Jameer DeShields made his presence knows as the fourth quarter opened. He poked the ball away from a Sallies player as the quarter opened and took it in for a layup. After that, he hit consecutive three-point shots for his own personal eight-point run, giving the Wildcats a 48-44 lead.

Justin Hinds scored on a reverse layup after a Salesianum timeout to end the run, and after a field goal by Jo’Ontae Hollard, Molen draind a three to get the Sals to within one at 50-49. But the next Wildcat to step up was Brown. He made two free throws, followed by a triple to push the lead to six.

The Sals battled back, with Kareem Thomas ending a 5-0 run by the home team, and it was again a one-point game with 3:25 to go. The teams traded three-pointers before Holland slashed down the lane to put the Wildcats up by three with a minute remaining. Twelve seconds later, Hynson struck again with a long two.

De’Mere Hollingsworth his the front end of a one-and-one, and the Wildcats had a chance to extend the lead to four with fewer than 20 seconds left, but a traveling call, paired with a technical foul for hanging on the rim, eliminated that possibility. The Sals, however, missed both technical free throws.

Salesianum kept possession, but they missed on a chance to tie the game. Hollingsworth again made one of two free throws with 5.5 seconds to go, giving the Sals one more chance to tie the score. Hynson’s attempt, however, bounced off the front of the rim, and the Wildcats and their fans celebrated.

It was a frenetic ending to a game that was close all night. The Sals led, 18-17, after one quarter, with Hynson scoring eight points to offset a nine-point effort by R.J. Matthews. The Wildcats scored the first six points of the second, taking the lead on a follow shot by Marcus Johnson as Howard’s rebounding paid dividends. Xavier Richards-Powell tied the game at 31 with a late triple, but Molen put the Sals ahead by two at the break with a pair of free throws.

The visitors caused a few turnovers to open the third, and they took advantage. Brown’s bucket after the first tied the score, and Richards-Powell gave the Wildcats 36-33 lead with a three-pointer. The Sals outscored Howard, 11-4, the rest of the period, setting the stage for the exciting fourth.

Brown, Matthews and DeShields each scored 11 for Howard. The Wildcats (15-3) end the regular season on Wednesday at home against Delcastle at 4:45 p.m.

For the Sals, Molen had 20, and Hynson had 19, with five three-pointers. Salesianum fell to 11-8 and will close out the regular season on Tuesday at 5 p.m. with a visit to Paulsboro (N.J.).

All photos by Mike Lang.