Seaford grabs early lead and coasts

The Seaford boys basketball team put together a highlight reel of plays in the opening 12 minutes of their second round playoff game against Dover Thursday night. Seniors Brent Ricketts and Makel Hubbard both brought the sold out crowd to its feet with slam dunks as part of a 16-0 Blue Jays run to end the opening quarter. Leading 23-5 after the first eight minutes, Seaford continued its dominance into the 2nd quarter by out-scoring the Senators 18-11 for the largest lead of the night at 44-19 with 2:41 left in the half. Dover was able to close the half on an 8-2 run to trail 46-27 at the break. 

The Senators stayed with Seaford for most of the second half, slicing the deficit to 12 points at 60-48 with Denim Perkins finding Noah Allen on a “back door” pass from the top of the circle. Following an empty possession by Seaford, Dover had a chance to cut the lead under double digits, but Aviyon Matthews stripped the ball from Nasir Pierce and completed a “layup-and-one” to push the advantage back to 15 points and the Senators would not get any closer.

With 3:45 left in the game, Dover’s Jaheim Harrell shoved Brent Rickkets from behind, drawing a technical foul. While the officials gathered at center court, a fight broke out in the stands behind the basket in Ben Sirman gymnasium. Although security acted quickly to break up the incident, both teams were directed to their respective locker rooms. Moments later, the public address announcer spoke to the crowd and asked that everyone leave the building and head to their vehicles. Officials, representatives from the DIAA, coaches and Athletic Directors gathered and decided to resume the contest in front of a “near-empty” gym with Seaford up 69-53. The officials informed us, Harrell was ejected from the game after a “double-flagrant” foul. The Dover senior (in my estimation, one of the state’s best) saw his high school career come to a close after surpassing the 1,000 point plateau earlier this season. 

The game resumed without incident as Seaford advanced to the quarterfinals with an 81-61 win, and will host William Penn Saturday at 1:00. 

The Blue Jays were led by Hubbard’s 20 point effort. Ricketts added 16 including a spectacular one handed jam in the second half. The defending 1st team all state selection (Ricketts) proved worthy of a repeat. The jays improved to 21-1 with the win and extended their winning streak to 14 games. A win Saturday would give Seaford a return trip to the Bob Carpenter Center and the Final 4.

Denim Perkins scored 16 of his 18 points in the 2nd half to lead Dover, while Harrell finished with 15 points. The Senators completed their season with a mark of 15-7.