By Andy Walter

FELTON — A lot has clearly changed since last March.

Not only are most of Dover High’s star boys’ basketball players gone but so are the big crowds that showed up for all the Senators’ state tournament games.

But the one thing that’s still the same is Dover keeps winning.

The No. 21 Senators only trailed in the first minute before downing 12th-seeded Lake Forest, 57-45, in the second round of the DIAA state tournament on Thursday night.

The victory was Dover’s fifth tourney win in a row and makes it 8-1 in its last nine tournament games over three seasons.

The win sends the Senators (12-4) to another Henlopen South foe — fifth-seeded Seaford — on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

Like every other game this winter, Wednesday’s contest was played in front of only a small crowd because of the coronavirus pandemic. But Dover’s players say they’ve adjusted to the atmosphere.

“We’re used to the gym being packed (in past years),” said sophomore guard Jaheim Harrell. “But we’re dealing with it. I’d rather be without fans than not to play at all.”

“It is different,” said coach Stephen Wilson. “But it also gives us a chance to be with us — to be with the people we’re used to being around. I think that plays a big part in what they’re doing right now — not having that added pressure. That’s a good thing.”

In the first meeting between the two Kent County rival schools in boys’ basketball since 2012, Dover opened up a 29-20 halftime lead.

The Senators pushed that advantage to 12 points in the third quarter before the Spartans (8-5) ran off seven points in a row. Lake Forest trailed just 34-29 when Kaheim Kimbrough-Roach hit a pair of foul shots with 1:12 left in the third quarter.

That was enough time, however, for the Senators to answer with a pair of foul shots — one from Harrell and one from Dymear Yelverton just before the end of the third quarter to quickly push their advantage back to 40-29.

Things then went from bad to worse for Lake Forest when Kimbrough-Roach fouled out trying to block a shot with 7:44 remaining. The 6-foot-6 senior scored 18 of the Spartans’ first 29 points.

The Senators went up by as many as 18 points and were still in front 54-37 when they emptied their bench with 1:36 remaining.

Even without many returning experienced players from last year’s team, Harrell said just being part of that success makes a difference.

“We’re not scared, we’ve been here before,” he said. “We stay together, stay a family, stay a team. ... We played as a team tonight.”

Harrell finished with a game-high 20 points for Dover with Yelverton adding 11. Both hit three three-pointers apiece. Amir Hite and Elijah Sessoms both scored eight points.

The Spartans, who were looking for their first state tournament victory since 2018, also got eight points from freshman Jackson Starkey.

Dover and Seaford are no strangers to each other. The two squads played in the second round of last year’s tournament with the Senators posting a competitive 63-47 win over the young Blue Jays.

“It’s a great season they’re having right now,” Wilson said about Seaford. “Same as us, they’re young, too. We’ve just got to go down there and do what we’ve got to do.”