Third overtime the charm for Delcastle

William Penn’s Daniel Walsh puts up a shot as Delcastle sophomore Justin Gray-Smith defends during the Cougars’ DIAA state quarterfinal win on Sunday at the Bob Carpenter Center.

NEWARK– Delcastle coach Kenny Avent said, “Was that three overtimes or four? It seemed like 10.”

One of the Cougars’ overtime stars — Desmond Gould — was literally too tired to talk.

It was that kind of game.

And it came in the quarterfinals of the DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament in front of a sellout crowd Sunday at the Bob Carpenter Center, which made it even more special. Delcastle and William Penn went toe to toe for 44 tense minutes before the Cougars emerged with a 54-49, triple-overtime victory.

“Man, that was a stalemate,” Avent said. “… Since I’ve been here, that’s the third time we’ve played William Penn, and it’s the third overtime game. I don’t know what it is about William Penn, but every time we play them, it’s a dogfight.”

Seventh-seeded Delcastle (16-6) broke the stalemate with defense in the third overtime. The Cougars won for the 13th time in their last 14 games and will meet sixth-seeded St. Georges in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Bob.

“We’re not finished yet,” said Ahmere Dorsey, who came up big with 11 points and nine rebounds. “We’ve still got more work to do, more games to win.”

The Cougars had the ball at the end of regulation and both of the first two overtimes before finally putting away the second-seeded Colonials (18-4). It’s been a long season for William Penn, which earlier defeated St. Georges in overtime, lost to Medford Tech (N.J.) in an extra period and edged Appoquinimink in three OTs.

“What do you say?” Colonials coach Steve Christensen said. “I thought our guys showed a lot of heart. We kept battling back.

“We found ourselves down a few times at the end of regulation and in overtime, and the guys kept playing and finding a way. But Delcastle kept making plays and we couldn’t get over the hump.”

Delcastle senior Ahmere Dorsey puts up a shot between William Penn defenders Calleem Hucks (left) and Ny’Jere Hodges.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by JaWan Ward put the Cougars up 29-23 — the largest lead for either team — with 4:51 left. But William Penn chipped away, ultimately tying it at 34 on two free throws by Markee Johnson with 9.5 seconds to go. Delcastle couldn’t get off a final shot, so it went to overtime.

Neither team scored in the first extra frame. The Cougars missed two free throws with 1:57 remaining, and the Colonials’ 6-foot-5 Malik Hines got his hands up to foil Dorsey’s last-second drive.

The tempo picked up in the second OT, as Gould drove for two layups and Justin Gray-Smith hit a free throw for a 40-36 Delcastle lead with 1:28 left. But William Penn mustered another comeback, knotting it at 43 on Danny Walsh’s drive with 3.6 seconds to play. The Cougars missed another last-second attempt, but it was ruled after the buzzer anyway.

Delcastle cranked up the defense in the third overtime. Gould made a steal and drove for a layup, then did it again. Then Dorsey got a breakaway on a long inbounds pass for a 49-46 lead with 1:36 left.

“Throughout the game, progressively, our defense improved,” Avent said. “In those last couple of overtimes, we really stepped it up on defense and got a couple of steals.”

Still, the Colonials wouldn’t go away. Walsh hit a 10-footer after two offensive rebounds, and Dasir King’s foul shot pulled William Penn within 50-49. Gould drove but missed a layup at the other end, but Dorsey was there for a critical tip-in to push Delcastle’s lead back to three with 24 seconds remaining.

“Just from being in practice, I knew Desmond was going to go right and then switch it back to the left hand,” Dorsey said. “So I just followed his shot, made sure it went in.”

Delcastle senior guard Damon Collins puts up a shot over the outstretched arm of William Penn senior forward Calleem Hucks.

The Cougars made another steal, and Gould clinched it with two free throws.

Gould led Delcastle with 15 points. Ward scored 11, and Gray-Smith was a force inside with 10 rebounds, six blocked shots and five points. William Penn got 16 points and 10 rebounds from Johnson, and 14 points from Walsh.

“We have a great group of kids. We’re not disappointed in anything,” Christensen said. “Somebody was going to win the game, somebody was going to lose the game. But these guys are great students, great people off the court, and they do everything the right way. We’re extremely proud of them.”

Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ.

BOYS TOURNEY SCORES

Sanford 64, Milford 49

Mount Pleasant 53, Smyrna 45

Delcastle 54, William Penn 49 – F/3OT

St. Georges 45, St. Thomas More 39