WILMINGTON — The St. Elizabeth boys basketball team clinched the Diamond State Athletic Conference title on Feb. 17 with a win over MOT Charter at the St. E Center, but the Vikings had to work for the victory. Two free throws by Terrence Williams provided the winning points in a 55-54 decision, but the outcome was not decided until an MOT game-winning shot attempt bounced off the rum at the buzzer.
A big crowd was on hand to watch the Vikings on their senior night, also the final game of the regular season. St. Elizabeth was coming off a close win at Saint Mark’s the night before, but they looked fresh as the game got off to and remained at a fast pace throughout.
Neither team could pull away from the other. The Vikings took a 12-7 lead, breaking a tie with a three-pointer from Michael Jones and a field goal for Nafir Salters following a Williams block on the other end. The Mustangs answered right back, however, getting a follow shot from Graling High and a three from Sean Thompson. St. Elizabeth led, 18-15, after eight minutes.
Salters opened the second with a triple, doubling the Vikings’ lead. Later in the second, Jones hit a teardrop jumper to extend the lead to 29-21, but MOT used a tough defense and rebounding edge to stay close. The Mustangs closed the gap to four at halftime.
After the run-and-gun first half, the second started with the run, but the gun was missing. Williams hit from the paint 80 seconds into the half, the lone field goal for the first three-plus minutes of the third. Emmanuel Matagaro drove for a layup with about four and a half minutes to go to get the lead back to eight, but the Mustangs found some offense after that.
High hit a three-pointer with 4:05 remaining in the quarter for the visitors’ first field goal of the second half. He added a free throw after MOT forced a St. Elizabeth turnover. The teams traded field goals for much of the rest of the quarter, and a corner three from David Woodson in the final seconds cut the Mustangs’ deficit to just two as the final quarter began.
MOT Charter’s Kohen Gaines scored on a driving shot to begin the fourth, tying the score at 44, the first time the Mustangs had not trailed since they had a 15-14 lead late in the first. After Carmile Frederique responded with a drive down the lane to put the Vikings back on top, MOT took a one-point lead on a triple by Korbin Gaines from the top of the circle with 6:49 to go.
Free throws played a role down the stretch. St. Elizabeth turned a one-point deficit into a 51-49 lead courtesy of three free throws, one by Williams and two by Frederique. MOT took a 53-51 lead, but the Vikings turned a steal into two points on a Jaiden Rajis layup with 1:04 to go. The Mustangs went back on top by a point on a Korbin Gaines free throw with :25.7 left.
Williams made a shot on the Vikings’ next trip down the floor, but he was fouled before the shot. He went to the line with 17 seconds on the clock and calmly made both free throws. MOT Charter ran nine seconds off the clock before calling a timeout to set up a potential game-winning play. The Mustangs’ shot bounced off the front rim and away from any possible follow-up attempt.
Williams paced the Vikings with 19 points and eight rebounds, along with two blocked shots. Jones had nine points. St. Elizabeth finished the regular season 12-8.
Final statistics were not available for MOT Charter. The Mustangs also are 12-8. Both teams will learn their postseason paths when the field is revealed on Friday afternoon.
