By Andy Walter

DOVER — A lot had changed since the last time these two teams met.

Many of the names were different for both Dover High and Seaford when they took the court on Saturday afternoon.

And the Henlopen Conference boys’ basketball title was at stake, not a chance to advance in the DIAA state tournament like it was a year ago.

When it was over, the Senators were happy to have changed the outcome, too, as they rolled to a 95-74 victory over the Blue Jays in front of a near-sellout crowd in Dover’s spacious gym.

The win gave the Senators (19-3) their 12th Henlopen Conference championship and their sixth under coach Stephen Wilson.

Wilson said winning the league title is also going to be special for Dover, which takes a great deal of pride in its boys’ basketball program.

“It never gets old when you can say you’re the best in your area,” he said. “These kids get a chance to celebrate. Some of these kids in their lives will never get to play college basketball.

“But for them to have the opportunity to say they’re the best down here, it means a whole for me to see these kids celebrate like that.”

For the Senators’ seniors, this was their second league crown in the last three seasons.

“Having the young guys with me, this was their first,” said senior point guard Denim Perkins. “I just love to see them happy.”

Senior Dorell Little, on the other hand, hadn’t won a championship before. He was on the Polytech squad that fell to Seaford in last year’s title game.

“It had been on my mind a lot,” said Little. “I had a chip on my shoulder because I didn’t get one last year. I just worked hard and I knew I was going to be back here.”

In a wide-open offensive affair, the two teams combined to sink 20 three-pointers in the game and scored 99 points in the first half alone. Dover’s 95-point total was the most it has scored in a game since 2017.

At times, South champion Seaford (18-3) was able to match the Senators’ scoring. The Jays, who never led in the contest, trailed just 38-36 midway through the second quarter.

Dover, however, stretched its advantage to 55-44 by halftime and were never seriously threatened again.

The Senators eventually led by as many as 27 points in the second half.

“I knew they had a lot of shooters, I knew they were going to put points on the board,” said Perkins. “It was just a matter of us contesting and playing as hard as we could. If they hit a shot we‘ve got to come back harder, stronger and faster.”

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A total of seven players scored in double figures in the game.

Dover was paced by Jay’vion Denis (20 points), Perkins (16), Little (16) and Istavan Norwood (10). Perkins hit four of the Senators’ 11 three-pointers with Denis adding three.

The Jays, who were playing in the Henlopen championship game for the fourth straight year, were led by Vincent Evans (23), Jordan Smith (22) and Kashmier Wise (17). All three players made three three-pointers apiece.

The Senators were able to score some quick baskets after forcing Seaford into 19 turnovers. But Wilson also knows Dover will have to tighten up its defense if it wants to keep winning.

“We know we’ve got to play better defense — and we will,” said Wilson. “But in this environment, we’re just trying to win the game. We’ll work on those things Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.”

Since 2020, Dover and Seaford have met three times in the DIAA state tournament with the Jays winning twice. If the second-seeded Senators and No. 7 Seaford win their second-round games on Thursday night, they’d meet again on Dover’s court next Saturday.

For the moment, though, the Senators were just happy to get even for last year’s tourney loss to the Jays.

“That’s what motivated us to go out there today and do what we did,” said senior Noah Allen, who netted nine points. “All that talk about everybody being underrated, you can’t take anybody lightly.”

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