Sallies shut down Sussex Tech 76-47
Just 12 days ago, the Sussex Tech boys’ basketball team was celebrating a one-point win over Salesianum, but the Sallies turned the tables Feb. 28 as they routed the Ravens 76-47 in the second round of the DIAA Basketball Tournament..
The Berkenheuer Memorial Gymnsaium was loud as the Sals’ student section gathered at one end rivaled the Cameron Crazies, but the normally raucous fans from Tech were abnormally quiet throughout the contest.
Sallies shot out of the blocks, scoring the first 12 points of the game, and rolled to a 19-8 first-quarter lead. Tech closed the gap but went into the halftime locker room down 36-21. Sallies continued the dominance in the second half, outscoring the Ravens 25-15 in the third, and finished the game with a 29-point victory.
The 12-9 Sallies will face top-seeded Sanford at St. Georges in Saturday’s quarterfinals at 6 p.m.
The Ravens shot a low 32 percent from the field, as the Sals hit for 57.5 percent, including six from behind the three-point line.
Junior Skylar Johnson led the Ravens with 11 points, while four Sals scored in double figures. Darnell Vaughan hit for 19 points, Maxamilian Ferrante added 15, Jack Brown knocked down 13 and Charles Parson scored 12.
Sussex Tech senior Ericson Willy was overcome with emotion and couldn’t find words. He just shook his head and whispered, “It was a great season.”
“We had a great season,” added senior Brandon Johnson. “I wish the underclassmen good luck next year.”
”We had a great run,” chimed in senior center Caleb Reid. “Nobody thought we would be here. We wanted to go further, but we fell a little short. We got off to a flat start. The whole atmosphere was different. Their gym is a lot smaller than ours and it’s a lot louder in here. They were playing a lot harder than they were last time.”
“I think Sallies came out and they executed better today and generated some momentum,” said Tech coach Damon Ayers. “That was one of the things we wanted to do. The roles were reversed, and so when they get momentum, it’s hard to stop anybody that you play when the guys start knocking shots down. It makes it that much more difficult. I’m not going to make any excuses for the guys. We really needed to come out to play and dictate what we wanted to do and be able to control the atmosphere, but I tip my hat to Sallies. They came out and got off to a good start and hit us with their best shot, and we just didn’t recover. Our guys continued to play hard. I’m proud of them.”
