The Dover Senators found themselves in a tight game at home Thursday night in the DIAA 2nd round of the boys basketball state tournament. Lake Forest responded to a Dover 8-0 run to start the night, tying the 2nd seeded Senators at 20-20 at the end of quarter number one. The 15th seeded Spartans had the lead at 31-29 with less than a minute to go in the first half, but Dover regained the lead when Dorell Little converted the “and-one” at 32-31. That’s how the first half ended.
Head coach Stephen Wilson made adjustments in the locker room that paid off in the decisive third quarter. “I told the team, we are winning. No panic, we’re winning. We figured out who they were trying to get the ball to and we made adjustments.” The Senators certainly tightened up on leading scorer Darius Miller, denying him the ball in the paint. Miller was held scoreless in the third quarter. In fact, Dover took control of the game by out-pointing Lake 25-3 to take a lead of 57-34 into the final quarter.
As a team, the Senators made five long range shots in that third frame. Perkins had two, Jay’Vion Dennis also made two, while Noah Allen provided the fifth make beyond the arc. Dover rode that momentum into the 4th quarter, increasing the lead to 28 points at 67-39 as coach Wilson removed the remaining starters from the game with 3:00 left.
The Spartans finished the season with an overall record of 16-6. Jackson Starkey paced Lake with 14 points, while Seth Young added 11. Darius Miller was limited to 9 points following his 26-point performance against Laurel on Tuesday.
Dover’s balanced offense was led by Little with 15, Perkins added 14, Tarrance Williams contributed 11, and Jay’Vion Dennis scored 10 points. The Senators improved to 20-2 and will host the 10th seed St George’s Tech Saturday with tip scheduled for 2:00. The Hawks eliminated Seaford 67-61 to advance to the quarterfinal matchup with Dover.
The other games Saturday will feature St Mark’s at Middletown at 1:00, Sanford at Salesianum at 3:00 and Howard at St Elizabeth at 7:00.
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