NEW CASTLE – For a quarter and a half, it looked like Salesianum’s basketball team had left its game back on North Broom Street on Thursday afternoon. But, trailing by 11 to host William Penn midway through the second, the Sals found an extra gear and cruised to a 55-39 win over the Colonials.
The Sals trailed after the first quarter, 9-6, and scored five points on free throws in the first four minutes of the second. Shane Clark’s layup was their first field goal of the quarter and gave them the lead at 13-12, but William Penn would score the next 12 points for a 24-13 advantage.
That’s when Salesianum found its footing. Casey Morgan nailed a three-pointer, followed by another triple, this one from guard Donte DiVincenzo, who was just getting started. David Barone followed with a field goal, then a runner from DiVincenzo made it 24-23. After the Colonials’ Julian Dobson hit the front end of a one-and-one, DiVincenzo drilled a three-point shot from about 27 feet out as the buzzer sounded, giving Salesianum a 26-25 halftime lead.
DiVincenzo continued his hot shooting in the third quarter as Salesianum built its lead to five heading into the final stanza. One of his baskets was an alley-oop dunk that brought the Salesianum faithful to their feet.
Salesianum apparently had no interest in a close game, continuing its strong play through the fourth. Five players scored in the quarter, including DiVincenzo, who added seven to finish with a game-high 24.
Danny Walsh scored 15 off the bench to lead William Penn, which suffered its first loss of the year and fell to 2-1. William Penn is back on the court Dec. 28 and 29 at the Jameer Nelson Classic at Widener University in Chester, Pa.
The Sals, who improved to 4-1, return to action Saturday night at home vs. Brandywine in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. They will then be off until Jan. 4.
