Dialog reporter
WILMINGTON – After letting Archmere climb back into the game and go into halftime down just two, Salesianum’s basketball team came out in the third and shut the door on the Auks. The Sals outscored Archmere, 17-2, to start the second half and went on to a convincing 68-55 win on Jan. 3.
The Auks had closed to within 32-30 at halftime by scoring the final four points of the second quarter, but Salesianum smothered the visitors in the third with a ferocious trapping defense. That led to a bevy of transition points, as five players scored in the third for the Sals. Mike Kempski opened the third with a steal and a layup, followed by a baseline jumper for Paul Brown. On the team’s next possession, Tariq Ingraham took nice feed along the baseline and sent down a two-handed jam.
After a timeout, the Auks put an end to the six-point run on a Tyler Faulkner field goal, but Salesianum would score the next 11 to extend the lead to 49-32. Duncan Trerotola had four of those points, both coming off Auks turnovers.
The Sals added to their lead in the fourth, as coach Brendan Haley went deep into his bench. Before he had a seat for the night, however, Ingraham took a bounce pass from Jack Brown and threw down his second dunk of the evening. Other scorers during the final quarter for the Sals included Mike Wallace, Max Ferrante, Brett Henshey and Daniel Meyer, who finished with six points on two three-point shots.
The Auks stayed close in the first half thanks to their accuracy from long distance. Without the height to compete with Ingraham and Paul Brown, the Auks went outside, nailing five three-pointers in the half. They trailed, 13-10, after Archmere’s Sean McGonigle began the second with an alley-oop lay-in, but Salesianum scored the next eight points and 12 of the next 14. The Sals’ 29-18 lead late in the second quarter was their largest of the first half, but back-to-back three-point shots by McGonigle and Louis Rosato helped Archmere close the gap.
Rosato, Andrew Pinto and Darren DiRenzo each scored nine for the Auks, who fell to 2-5. They host Delaware Military Academy on Thursday at 6:15 p.m.
The Brown brothers, Paul and Jack, led Salesianum with 11 points apiece. Ingraham added 10. The Sals (5-2), who snapped a two-game losing streak, travel to St. Elizabeth on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. tip.
