By Andy Walter

DOVER — Dover High’s No. 2 seeding was never a guarantee that the Senators would make it this far.

Dover still had to go out and earn its spot in the DIAA state Final Four.

But the Senators did just that, keeping No. 10 St. Georges at arm’s length before registering a 67-49 victory in the DIAA boys’ basketball state quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon.

The win earns Henlopen Conference champion Dover (21-2) a ticket to Thursday night’s Final Four at the Carpenter Center in Newark.

The Senators will square off with third-seeded Middletown (18-5) at 6 p.m. The Cavaliers downed No. 6 Saint Mark’s, 70-50, in their quarterfinal contest.

In Thursday’s second semifinal, No. 4 Salesianum will face No. 1 St. Elizabeth as the top seeds all made it to the Carpenter Center.

Dover last played in the state Final Four in 2019. In 2020, the Senators reached the semis but the COVID pandemic broke out in the same week and the tournament was canceled.

“We worked all year for this,” said senior Dorell Little. “We executed Coach’s game plan. It started on the defensive end.”

“It feels good but I want the big thing (a state title),” said senior captain Denim Perkins. “I want the happy ending.”

Dover trailed only once on Saturday — when St. Georges (15-8) tallied the game’s first basket. But the Hawks, who knocked off No. 7 Seaford on Thursday, also found ways to stay in the game.

Four times after the first quarter St. Georges closed within seven points. The Senators, though, never let the Hawks pull any closer.

The last time came when St. Georges made it a 47-40 game with 4:46 remaining.

But Dover ran off six straight points before closing the game on a 20-9 run. The Senators’ 6-foot-6 junior, Istavan Norwood, had a pair of dunks in the final two minutes to put an exclamation point on the victory.

“Obviously, the key thing is to play hard,” said Dover coach Stephen Wilson. “As you can see, they were diving on the ground when there’s one minute left in the game. They don’t know any better, they just play one way and that’s hard.

“I know everybody is preparing for what we’re doing. Our staple is our defense.”

Little finished with a game-high 30 points for Dover. The Polytech transfer netted 17 of those points in the first half.

“I was just taking what the defense gave me,” said Little. “My teammates have the trust in me and they want me to score. So that’s what I’m going to do for them.”

“I thought our guys stepped up who needed to step up,” said Wilson. “Dorell, I thought he came through tonight. His knees are bothering him a little.”

Norwood added 13 points while Perkins scored 10, along with collecting a number of assists and steals.

“We played defense, stayed composed and rebounded extremely well today,” said Perkins, who had six points in Dover’s closing run.

Wilson, who has taken the Senators to a pair of state finals, is just glad that this group gets to have the experience of playing in a Final Four.

“I’m happy for these kids, they get a chance to take that busride,” said Wilson. “But that’s not good enough for us.”

Free throws

Blair Thomas had a team-high 14 points for St. Georges with Emory Womack adding 13. ... The Hawks had won 10 of their last 12 games before Saturday. ... Dover and Middletown last played in the 2021-22 season, with the Senators winning in both the regular season and second round of the state tourney. ... Wilson was Middletown’s head coach before coming to Dover. ... The Cavs feature five Matthews brothers who transferred from Seaford in the off-season.

Sports editor Andy Walter can be reached at awalter@iniusa.org. Follow on X at @DSNsports.

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