Three Catholic schools will be among the 24 vying for the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association boys high school basketball state championship when the tournament gets underway on Feb. 23 at high schools around the Delaware. Salesianum, St. Elizabeth and Archmere all reached the postseason and will begin play in the first round.
All first-round games are scheduled for Feb. 23 at 6 p.m., but that could change because of the expected winter storm that could dump a foot of snow or more on the state.
Salesianum is the 11th seed and earned a home game against No. 22 Seaford. The Sals went 11-9 against one of the state’s toughest schedules. They played several tough out-of-state foes, and their Delaware opponents included tournament teams Tatnall, William Penn, Caravel, Middletown, Sanford, Odessa, Howard and St. Elizabeth.
Latrell Wright is the Sals’ leading scorer, but he has support from a variety of teammates, including Braelin Sosa, Dominic Downes and Kevin Coleman. TaSean Williams-Conway leads the Blue Raiders, who come in with a record of 13-7. The winner of this game travel to No. 6 Seaford, currently scheduled for Feb. 25 at 6 p.m.
St. Elizabeth hits the road for its first-round matchup. The Vikings, who are the 17th seed, will head north to No. 16 Concord on Feb. 23 (weather permitting). St. Elizabeth finished the regular season 12-8 with wins over tournament teams Archmere and Appoquinimink and losses to Odessa, William Penn, Caravel, Middletown, Salesianum and Sanford.
John O’Connor entered his first season as head coach with a new-look roster after graduations and transfers from 2024-25. Any one of a number of players took turns leading the Vikings, including Michael Jones, Carmile Frederique and Emmanual Matagaro. Michael Wright is one of the Raiders’ top scorers. The top seed, Dover, awaits the winner of this one.
Finally, Archmere is in the tournament as the 18th seed, which means a first-round game at 15th-seeded Tatnall. The Auks, who went 15-5 this season, are led by Johnny Orsini and Khaleef Wilson Jr. Tatnall has a young team, but their top player, sophomore Mason Collins, can do just about everything on the floor. He is ranked among the top sophomores in the country.
Archmere defeated Concord early in the season and has lost to tournament teams Woodbridge and St. Elizabeth. The winner of this battle goes on the road to No. 2 Howard in the second round.
All tickets for the tournament through the quarterfinals must be purchased online at www.gofan.co/app/school/DIAA. Weather updates will be available through the DIAA’s social media platforms.
