Despite suffering its only loss of the season on Thursday, Sanford was awarded the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Delaware High School Basketball State Tournament.
The Warriors enter the tournament with an impressive 19-1 record and arguably two of the state’s best players in 6-foot-4 junior shooting guard Trevor Cooney (18 ppg, 10 rpg) and 6-5 junior forward Deon Jones (17, 7).
"We'll look for the silver lining and use it as a learning experience and an opportunity to regain our focus," Sanford coach Stan Waterman said of his team’s 55-47 loss to Tatnall.
Sanford will await the winner of Wednesday’s first-round game between No. 16 Pencader (13-7) and No. 17 Brandywine (13-6). In the girls tournament, St. Mark's (Wilmington) (18-0) was awarded the top seed and will await the winner of Tuesday’s first-round game between Indian River (13-7) and Padua (8-11).
"We're proud of our undefeated record against a very competitive schedule of teams," St. Mark’s coach John Fiorelli said in an e-mail shortly after learning his team was the top seed in the tournament. "Playing and winning some close games in the last few weeks has given us great confidence heading into the tournament, but of course, we're not looking past anyone."
To see both tournament brackets, visit www.websites4sports.com. Tickets for all games can be purchased at www.diaa.ticketleap.com.
2. Final regular-season rankings
Boys basketball
1. Sanford (19-1)
2. Delcastle (Wilmington) (18-2)
3. Hodgson Vo-Tech (Newark) (17-3)
4. Concord (Wilmington) (15-4)
5. Dover (16-3)
Girls basketball
1. St. Mark’s (18-0)
2. Sanford (Hockessin) (15-4)
3. Smyrna (18-2)
4. Hodgson Vo-Tech (Newark) (15-5)
5. Ursuline Academy (Wilmington) (12-8)
3. Dover wins Henlopen title with ease
The Dover Senators will ride an 11-game winning streak into the state tournament after toppling Polytech, 71-55, in the Henlopen Conference title game on Saturday night at Delaware State University. Dover (16-3) was led by Corey Crawford’s 21 points and Daniel Prinsloo’s 20. Kendall Gray and Anthony Myles scored 13 points each for Polytech (16-5).
4. Delcastle boys edge Hodgson for Blue Hen crown
Delcastle guard Terrance Bobb-Jones played sparingly against Hodgson in Saturday night’s title game due to an ankle injury suffered earlier in the week against Sanford. But he was on the court in the Blue Hen Conference championship game when it counted most. After being fouled on a 3-pointer with just three seconds remaining, the reliable senior converted all three free throws to give the Cougars a 54-53 win.
5. Hodgson stifles Charter to win Blue Hen Conference title
Hodgson jumped out to a six-point first-quarter lead and then held Charter to just two points in the second on its way to a 41-30 victory to win the Blue Hen Conference championship. Hodgson (15-5) was led by center Tiffany Anderson’s 12 points, while Kelly Perillo scored a game-high 20 for Charter, which made its first appearance in the title game.
First-rate performers in the First State
* Jarrett James (Tatnall): The high-scoring senior scored 21 points, including a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe, to lead Tatnall to a 55-47 upset win over Sanford, handing the Warriors their first loss of the season.
* Kelly Perillo (Charter): The 6-foot sophomore center scored 20 points and was 7-for-9 from the free throw line in a 41-30 loss to Hodgson in the Blue Hen Conference title game.
* Alex Hackett (Delcastle): Hackett, a 6-1 junior guard, scored a team-high 13 points in the Cougars’ 54-53 win over Hodgson to lead his team to the Blue Hen Conference championship.
* Corey Crawford (Dover): The senior guard scored a game-high 21 points in the Senators’ 71-55 victory over Polytech in the Henlopen Conference title game.
* Sean Dolan (St. Mark’s): The NC State-bound senior became just the eighth wrestler in Delaware history to win four state titles when he eked out a 1-0 decision over Hodgson’s Brandon Davis in the 119-pound weight class at the DIAA Individual Wrestling State Championships on Sunday.
Recruiting news
* Highly-recruited Sanford shooting guard Trevor Cooney verbally committed to Syracuse on Friday night. The 6-4 junior received several offers — Maryland, Notre Dame, Villanova and West Virginia among them — and is rated by several recruiting groups as one of the top juniors in the country. He led Sanford to a 19-1 regular-season record while averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds for the top-ranked Warriors.
"Trevor will be attending a great university, playing for a Hall of Fame coach, in a system that fits his style of play very well," Stanford coach Stan Waterman said. "He will compete in one of the best conferences and continue to develop as a player. He's worked very hard to reach this point and this is the payoff."
Cooney returned my call on his way home from Syracuse where he watched his future team defeat Villanova in front of a record crowd at the Carrier Dome. He had this to say about his experience: "This was the third game I’ve attended, but this one was definitely different now that I’ve verbally committed to go there. It was like I was really part of the Syracuse family."
If you only watch one first-round game…
* No. 14 St. Mark’s (13-6) will host No. 19 Salesianum (9-10) on Wednesday at 7. The teams split their two regular-season games. No matter the sport, this rivalry is hands-down the biggest in the state.
The buzz
The St. Andrews girls team was eligible for the tournament but declined the invitation. Head coach Mike Hyde said in an e-mail the school will be in the midst of its three-week spring break and therefore can not participate. St. Andrews, located in Middletown, is a private boarding school made up of students from all over the world. The three-week break is one of the few opportunities students have to return home during the school year.
Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance writer, and occasional color commentator for the 1290 AM The Ticket High School Football Game of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com.
