WILMINGTON — No. 2 seed Salesianum used a big second half to defeat the 15th seed, Dickinson, 71-39, on March 6 at the Father John Birkenheuer Gymnasium. The Sals advance to face the 10th seed, Tatnall, on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
The Sals jumped out to a 6-2 lead behind a jumper by Ethan Hinds, a deep three-pointer by Justin Molen and a free throw by Rasheen Caulk. The Rams answered back with a 7-2 run to take a 9-8 lead at the end of the first stanza.
The Sals found their stride in the second quarter as Molen scored on a layup and knocked down two free throws, then assisted on a Caulk basket to spark a 9-0 run to open the quarter. Again, the Rams bounced back, this time with a 6-0 run to cut the Sals’ lead to 17-15. The Sals answered with a five-point run of their own, including a Brett O’/hara old-fashioned three-point play. The Sals took a 25-17 lead into halftime.
The third quarter was all Sallies as they came out on fire. Molen scored three times from inside, and Caulk hit a spectacular underhand scoop shot (plus the harm) to give the Sals a 40-21 lead. The Sals added eight more points in the quarter and led, 48-24, heading into the fourth.
They kept up the pressure in the fourth as 10 different layers scored in the stanza, including a thunderous throw down from Molen. Brandon Baffone hit a pair of mid-range jumpers in the final few minutes to close it out. Sallies hit 18 of 26 from the field in the second half, outscoring the Rams, 46-22.
Molen led the Sals (11-3) with 23 points, while Caulk added 11 points, and Hinds had nine.
Maurkel Harrington lead the Rams with 13 points, while Travis Lee added 12. Dickinson finished the season 7-7.
All photos by Jason Winchell.
