WILMINGTON – St. Elizabeth got close to William Penn a few times in the second half, but the Colonials pulled away with a late run in a 52-40 win over the Vikings in boys basketball on Dec. 16 at the St. E Center. It was William Penn’s first win of the season.
Neither team had much going offensively in the first quarter. Chase Simmons gave the Colonials a 5-0 lead with two field goals, and Aaron Whitaker added a point to the lead with a free throw. St. Elizabeth got on the board with a Nafir Salters free throw with 2:36 to go, and he also had the team’s first field goal with 1:20 left. Penn led by three after one.
The Vikings battled the turnover bug all night, and those miscues allowed William Penn to build its lead. Mu’adh Ibn Jaabir-Johnson stretched the advantage to 15-6 after a fast-break layup, but St. Elizabeth tightened up its defense after that. They held Penn to just five more points before halftime, and although they struggled on offense, trailed by just eight, 20-12, at the break.
Kyndal Riley-Garlick scored the first basket of the second half, and the Colonials led by 10. That was when the Vikings went on their first run of the night. They scored five straight, and 10 of 12 to cut the deficit to just 24-22. That stretch included three-pointers for both Michael Jones and Carmile Frederique.
That was all of their scoring in the third. Penn finished the quarter on an 9-0 run, with seven of those points coming from the foul line.
St. Elizabeth cut the Colonials’ advantage to six midway through the fourth quarter on a three-pointer from Frederique, but again Penn responded. They went on an 8-0 run to extend the lead to 14, taking advantage of Vikings foul trouble. Three St. Elizabeth players fouled out, and William Penn shot 12 free throws in the quarter, making eight. Caden Sagers made five of six.
Whitaker led the Colonials with 12 points. Nine players scored for the team. William Penn (1-3) visits Chester (Pa.) on Thursday at 7 p.m.
For the Vikings, Frederique had 14. St. Elizabeth fell to 1-2 and hosts Caravel on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Photos by Mike Lang.
