Courtside View – Boys basketball second round playoff preview

The second round of the boys state basketball tournament kicks off tonight.  The eight second round games all tip off at 7 pm as the 2024 State tournament continues.  Here is a look of the eight games,

 

No. 9 Howard (14-7). at No. 8 William Penn (16-4)   The Wildcats advanced with a 61-46 win over McKean on Tuesday night.  These two Blue Hen conference schools meet for the second time this season tonight.  William Penn won the first meeting 55-46 at home on February 10th.  Both these teams can play great defense but can fill it up on the offensive end too.  Get to New Castle early tonight as I expect a big crowd in the tournament rematch of last years semifinals also won by William Penn,

 

No. 10 St George’s Tech (14-7l at No. 7 Seaford (18-2)  The Hawks advance to this game with a 69-54 win over Glasgow on Tuesday night.  Blair Thomas had 21 points to lead the Hawks including 4 triples.  The Bluejays won 18 games but they did lose to Glasgow 69-68 at home on February 9th.  Both losses were at home this year.  The Hawks were 9-4 on the road this year.  

 

No. 11 Appoquinimink (14-7)  at No. 6 Saint Mark’s (16-4)  The Jags advanced to the second round with a 71-45 win over Woodbridge on Tuesday night.  The Jags defense lead to offense on Tuesday and they will look to continue that against the Spartans tonight.  The Spartans had a great year after a 9-11 season last year.  They have lost their last 3 games against teams with a winning record and will look for their student section to help them defend the home court tonight.

 

No. 21 Cape Henlopen (11-10) at No. 5 Sanford (16-4)     The Vikings advance to tonight with its third win of the season  over Sussex Central 61-50 on Tuesday,February 8th.  The Vikings jumped out to an early lead and held on to make the trip up north tonight.  The Warriors have won 12 of their last 13 including a win at St Elizabeth’s on February 16th.  The Warriors are a great foul shooting team and play solid defense. 

 

No. 13DMA (13-8) at No. 4 Sallies (12-8)   The Seahawks overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Smyrna 49-48 on Tuesday night.  They made some clutch free throws down the stretch and play so;id defense to advance to tonight’s second round. Sallies had one of the toughest schedules in the state.  They look to use their defense to get their offense going and can shoot the ball well from deep.  The Sals were 5-1 at home and have one of the loudest student sections.  Can DMA end the Sals home tournament winning streak tonight or will the Sals advance to Saturday quarterfinals. 

 

No. 19 Conrad (13-8) at No. 3 Middletown (15-5)  The Red Wolves won the rematch with MOT Charter on Tuesday to advance to tonight’s game..  They have won 10 of their last 11 games including 4 of 5 on the road.  Middletown lost their last two regular season games at home after winning their first 7.  The Cavs have played a lot of close games and are 8-2 in games decided by 10 points or less.  

 

No. 15 Lake Forest (16-5) at No. 2 Dover (18-2)    The Spartanas advanced to tonight’s game with a 58-36 win over Laurel.  Their defense was solid on Tuesday night but can they slow down the Senators offense that is averaging 70.6 points per game. The Senators have had a great season and were a perfect 8-0 at home.  Their defense has been solid all season only allowing 50.5 points per game.

No. 17 Mount Pleasant (14-7) at No. 1 St Elizabeth’s (19-1)  The Green Knights advance to the game tonight after a 46-45 overtime win at Odessa on Tuesday night.  They were able to play their pace and keep the score low and that will be their game plan against the Vikings.  The Vikings are one of the most complete teams in the state and had 19 wins against a tough schedule.  They can score in multiple ways and their defense is outstanding