By Tim Mastro

WILMINGTON — The Dover High boys’ basketball team fought back to extend its season by four more minutes.

That’s when time ran out on the Senators’ state tournament run.

Salesianum’s Justin Molen buried a go-ahead three-pointer with 39 seconds left in overtime to lift the top-seeded Sals to a 57-51 victory against Dover Saturday in the quarterfinals of the DIAA state tournament. Salesianum (14-8) advanced to play fourth-seeded Howard Thursday at 8:10 p.m. at the University of Delaware’s Bob Carpenter Center.

Dover, seeded ninth in the 24-team field, ended its season with a 19-4 record.

The Senators trailed by as much as 11 in the second half but found a way to force overtime and even led by two points in the extra session.

“I saw constant effort, constant fight and constant hustle,” Dover coach Stephen Wilson said. “I thought we played hard, even though we didn’t execute well at times, our defense gave us a chance to be in the game. We were right there.”

Salesianum ended the game on a 7-0 run.

Dover’s Lance Rainford put the Senators on top 51-49 after their first possession of overtime. But the next three Dover possessions were all turnovers — a charge under the basket, a steal by Salesianum and another offensive foul after a loose ball.

Samuel Walsh tied the game with a fast-break layup for Salesianum two possessions before Molen’s game-winner. The Sals capitalized off a missed three-pointer, grabbing the offensive rebound before the ball found Molen on the right wing where his shot swished through the hoop.

Dover had a chance to tie but Rainford’s effort rimmed out and the Sals hit free throws the rest of the way,

“They ran their stuff and we didn’t run our stuff when overtime came,” Wilson said. “When it comes down to overtime, you have to execute like a champion and they executed a little bit more than us today. It was just a couple possessions, that was all.”

The Senators were in overtime thanks to five unanswered points in the final minute of regulation.

Amire Hite pushed Dover within two points on a three-pointer before

Salesianum called timeout after an offensive rebound to set the stage for a furious final 30 seconds. Rainford stole the ball and raced down the other end for a game-tying layup.

The Sals had two chances to win in regulation but both were off the mark.

The comeback for Dover started midway through the third quarter when Salesianum led 36-25. The Senators climbed back into the game thanks to four consecutive three-pointers, two from Jaheim Harrell and two from Tyrone Tolson, but could not find a way to replicate that offense in overtime.

“I’m pleased but I’m not pleased,” Wilson said. “We’ll be back. We’ll come back stronger. We have to build from this and continue to get better and I think that we will. We have a lot of key guys back and this will give them an opportunity to improve next year.”

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