WILMINGTON —Salesianum and St. Elizabeth had the spotlight to themselves on the afternoon of Jan. 7, a rare Sunday high school boys basketball battle. The teams, ranked first and second, respectively, by Delaware Live, met for a matinee at a jam-packed St. E Center, and they delivered.
The Vikings took the lead with an 8-0 run in the middle of a running-and-gunning first quarter and never trailed again, earning the 84-77 win. They remained undefeated at 7-0.
The Sals were playing their second game in less than 24 hours, having defeated Malvern Prep (Pa.) the night before, but they showed no signs of fatigue. They won the opening tip and got on the board first after an offensive rebound by R.J. Johnson. They had points from four players as they opened up a 10-7 lead on a follow-up shot by Justin Hinds before St. Elizabeth dialed in from deep.
Kenneth Hunter Jr., tied the game at 10 with a three-pointer from the top of the circle. He went back to get a defensive rebound, drove the ball into the land and kicked to his right to Aiden Tobiason in the corner, and his triple put St. E’s on top.
After a Sals hoop, Tobiason scored three on a conventional three-point play, and, after a Vikings steal, he went in for a reverse layup, stretching the lead to eight with 2:18 left in the first.
Tobiason would continue a torrid first half with another three-pointer to open the scoring in the second quarter, giving the Vikings a seven-point advantage. His two free throws later in the quarter gave him 20 first-half points and a 32-26 lead, and another pair of free throws, these from Juilius Wright, added to the advantage.
The Sals answered with the next five points. Two free throws from Zach Swartout with 1:42 left got them to within three, the closest they had been to the lead since it was 15-12. But Wright and Steven Nixon Jr. each had threes in the final minute, and St. E’s had a seven-point lead at the break.
The margin of the Vikings’ lead stayed in the six- to 10-point range throughout the third. The Sals had a big quarter from Zach Swartout, had three field goals, and Luke Brown, but the Vikings continued to score. Despite fighting the turnover bug for a few minutes in the third, three Vikings hit threes, and Tobiason and Wright combined to make all nine free throws they attempted in the quarter.
St. Elizabeth’s built on its lead in the first four minutes of the fourth, getting it to its highest at 75-58 after a runner from Nixon. But Johnson responded immediately, igniting a 10-2 Sals run that cut their deficit to single digits. The Vikings made their first 20 free throws of the game, but after they missed two with 42 seconds to go, Justin Hinds grabbed a rebound and raced down the court for a layup to cut the St. Elizabeth lead to 79-73. The Vikings, however, made five of eight free throws in down the stretch to ensure the win.
Tobiason finished with 30 points, and Wright went for 28. Nixon also reached double figures with 12. The Vikings made 11 three-point shots. St. Elizabeth hosts Conrad on Jan. 11 at 7:15 p.m.
For the Sals, Hinds had 20 to lead four players in double figures. Kareem Thomas had 19, while Swartout and Johnson each had 12. Salesianum (4-5) welcomes William Penn to Father Birkenheuer Gymnasium on Jan. 9 for a 7:30 p.m. tip. It is just the second home game of the season for Salesianum.
Photos by Mike Lang.
