By Andy Walter

NEWARK — No. 7 William Penn High missed a tying three-pointer with four seconds left before fifth-seeded Salesianum claimed a 48-44 victory over the Colonials in the DIAA boys’ basketball state championship game at the Carpenter Center on Saturday evening.

The state crown was the third for the Sals, all of them coming since 2014. It was the 13th time in the last 17 seasons that the state title was won by a New Castle County private school.

Sallies never trailed after taking a 26-18 halftime lead. But, after trailing by as many as 11 points in the third quarter, the Colonials twice cut the Sals’ lead to only one in the final two minutes.

A jumper by Isaiah Hynson gave Sallies a 47-44 advantage with 30 seconds remaining. After calling a timeout with 16 seconds left, a three-point attempt by William Penn’s Jalen Sample was off the mark with four seconds remaining.

The Sals’ Kareem Thomas hit one of two foul shots with no time remaining.
Hyson had 20 points, on 8-of-14 shootng from the floor, while Thomas added 14 for Sallies (17-7), which avenged a 75-63 loss to William Penn during the regular season.

Sample (13), Jaiden Guy (12) and Emmanuel Vonhm (10) all finished in double figures for the Colonials (16-8), who were trying to win their first state title sice 2009. William Penn hit only 3-of-19 three-pointers and 11-of-21 free throws.

Girls’ basketball

Sanford 58, Ursuline 46: The top-seeded Warriors netted the game’s final 12 points — the last eight coming by free throw — to break a 46-46 tie and win the state title on Friday night.

The state championship was the sixth for Sanford. It also marked the 40th time in the state tournament’s 50-year history that the crown was won by a New Castle County private school.

Dallas Pierce netted a game-high 24 points for the Warriors (20-3), going 8-for-12 from the field, including 3-for-3 from three-point range. She was also 5-for-5 from the foul line.

Jada Snow added 13 points and Zy Kilgoe added 12. Sanford went undefeated against Delaware schools this winter.

Eighth-grader Jezelle Banks had a team-high 15 points for Ursuline (22-2), whose only two losses this year were to Sanford.

Blue-Gold game set

A total of 26 downstate players — 13 on both the boys’ and the girls’ squads — are slated to take part in the Blue Gold Basketball All-Star Games on March 18 at Dover High.

The girls’ is slated to start at noon with the boys’ contest to follow at about 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at https://ticketspicket.com/ (Keyword DIBCA).

The Gold team roster for the girls’ game: Laila Glover, Caravel; Amaya Johnson, Caravel; Ainsley Bell, Delmarva Christian; Kallie Hopkins, Polytech; Payton Keeler, Woodbridge; Ja’Onna Lee, Cape Henlopen; Carlie Venables, Laurel; Jayde Rivera, Smyrna; Aaliyah Smith, Caesar Rodney; DeAsya Jones, Woodbridge; Alyssa Kellam, Sussex Tech; McKenna Boyle, Sussex Central; Iyanna Mims, Woodbridge; Niacah Furlow, Early College; and Daijah Bailey, Sussex Tech. Laurel’s Jeff Taylor is the Gold head coach.

The Gold roster for the boys’ game: John Clemmons, Caravel; Christian Barksdale, Appoquinimink; Dontarius Jones, Laurel; Kyle Gamber, Polytech; Brent Ricketts, Jr., Seaford; Jahiem Harrell, Dover; Xavier Brewington, Polytech; Brendon Bradford, Indian River; Drew Zimmerman, Cape Henlopen; Bruce Mosley, Woodbridge; Andrew Kravitz, Milford; Corey Mumford, Laurel; Kylse Wilson, Laurel; Tyrone Tolson, Cape Henlopen; and Ethan Wilkins, Milford. The Gold head coach is Polytech’s John Pierce.

The Blue roster for the girls’ game: Emma Kirby, Tatnall; Dallas Pierce, Sanford; Farrah White, St. Elizabeth (unavailable for game); Imirah Trader, A.I. duPont; Azareya Kilgoe, Sanford; Caitlin Smith, Tower Hill; Veronica Sanchez-Wright, Wilm. Charter; Alyssa Cresto, Appoquinimink; Sani Savage, Middletown; Erin Glanz, Conrad; Alyssa Thomason. Newark (unavailable for game); Kimahni Woods, A.I. duPont; Zoe Kashner, Sanford (unavailable for game); Mikyia Smith, Mt. Pleasant; Reagan Brady, Wilm. Friends; Sanaia Hayman, Newark; Kymoria Jones, Delcastle; and Hannah Kelly, Ursuline. Tatnall’s Erica Brown is the Blue head coach.

The Blue roster for the boys’ game : Dean Shepherd, Tower Hill; Dayon Polk, Sanford; Dylan Shepherd, Tower Hill; Jaden Rogers, Middletown; Jaiden McGhee, Middletown; Rob Tattersall, Wilm. Friends (unavailable for game); Jaiden Guy William Penn; Chris Stanford, Sanford; Amir Hite, Middletown; Xavier Richards-Powell, Howard; Isaiah Sales, Tatnall; Shaun Chandler, St. Elizabeth; Antonio Randell, A.I. duPont; Kelcey Epps, Conrad; Brandon Baffone, Salesianum; and Jalen Sample, William Penn. William Penn’s Gary Lumpkin is the Blue head coach.

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at walter@iniusa.org. Follow on Twitter at @DSNSports.