Dialog reporter
WILMINGTON – William Penn traveled to the St. E Center on Jan. 12, and the Colonials validated their high placement in the boys’ basketball rankings. Penn put host St. Elizabeth in a big hole early in the game, and the No. 4 Vikings could not fully recover in a 59-48 loss.
A look at what was to come occurred on the first possession of the game. William Penn controlled the tap and worked the ball inside to Markee Johnson. Johnson controlled the ball through three offensive rebounds before laying in the first bucket of the night. The Colonials owned the boards much of the night, particularly on the offensive end, creating second and third chances that helped keep St. Elizabeth from completing a comeback.
Penn guard Danny Walsh followed Johnson’s field goal with a three-point shot 50 seconds into the game, prompting a quick St. Elizabeth timeout. But William Penn continued the onslaught. They repeated the sequence of Johnson inside and Walsh deep, and the Colonials were up, 10-0, less than two minutes in.
Jordan Money of St. Elizabeth ended the game-opening streak by converting a steal into an easy layup, but Walsh answered with his third triple of the quarter. By the time the first quarter ended, William Penn had a 23-7 lead, and the Vikings would spend the rest of the night playing catch-up.
The Colonials extended the lead to 29-9 before St. Elizabeth made its first run. Money hit a three pointer, and Eric Hicks followed with back-to-back field goals to cut the deficit to 13. Penn got four of those points back and took a 33-18 lead into intermission.
With William Penn’s Malik Hines harassing Money all night, other Vikings stepped up as the team clawed its way back in the third. Chris Cropper scored all seven of his points in the third, and St. Elizabeth was within four at 38-34. But Penn managed two late shots, including a buzzer-beating putback by Jermal Crumel, to get the lead back to eight after the third.
The teams traded three-pointers to open the fourth, but the Colonials regained dominance on the boards, and they hit seven of 11 free-throw attempts, to thwart any chance of a comeback. St. Elizabeth had played the Colonials evenly for the last three quarters, but the opening eight minutes made the difference.
Johnson scored 22 to lead Penn, which improved to 7-1. Walsh, who hit four three-point shots and five of six free throws, added 21 as he continued an outstanding season. The Colonials, who kicked off a stretch of four games in seven days, travel to Sussex Tech on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Money and Brian Miles shared scoring honors for the Vikings with 11 each. Nate Thomas had nine. The Vikings fell to 7-2; their schedule does not get any easier, as they have a date Thursday at No. 1 Sanford at 5:15 p.m.
