For The Dialog
WILMINGTON – Paul Brown and his brother Jack combined for 34 points to lead 10th-ranked Salesianum past No. 9 St. Elizabeth, 60-46, on Jan. 26 at the St. E Center. With the win, the Sals avenged an earlier loss to the Vikings.
Salesianum came out in a 2-3 zone, and it worked as the Sals stormed out to a 7-0 lead. Jack Brown put the visitors on the board with a layup, followed by a Paul Brown layup and a surprising three-pointer for the taller Paul. Jordan Brown of the Vikings ended the run with a three of his own after a timeout, but the Sals answered with another 7-0 run to end the quarter. The first ended with a deep three-pointer from Jack Brown, giving the Sals an 11-point advantage.
The Vikings got their offense going in the second quarter, when Salesianum had its starters on the bench. Justin Money, Nate Thomas and Brown all scored during an 11-4 run that cut the Sals’ lead to 18-14 with three minutes left in the half. But Paul Brown had a nice dunk, and his brother followed with a long-distance triple, and it was 24-18 at the break.
The third was a quarter of runs as Jack Brown converted a four-point play, and Darnell Vaughan scored inside as the Sals stretched the lead to 31-24. But St. Elizabeth responded with a 9-3 run as Money hit a three-pointer, then threw down a nasty two-hand slam to make it 34-33. The Sals answered, with Vaughan scoring inside and Jack Brown going deep once more to push it back to a six-point lead at 39-33 heading into the final eight minutes.
The Sals would pull away in the fourth, heading to the foul line 18 times, converting 13 of them. Paul Brown credited the win to the game plan.
“We practiced the 2-3 zone all week knowing they were not going to expect us to play it, and we played it well,” he said.
The Sals (7-4) had three players in double figures. Each of the Browns had 17 points, while Vaughan added 10. The team has another tough week ahead of it, hosting Archmere on Tuesday and No. 2 Smyrna on Friday. Both games tip at 7:30 p.m.
The Vikings (9-4) lost their second straight. Thomas led the way with 12 points, and Money had 11. They host fifth-ranked Caravel on Thursday at 7:15 p.m.
