Sanford’s Mikey Dixon drives against Milford’s Eugene Riley (33) in last Sunday’s DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament quarterfinals.
Both Mount Pleasant and Sanford lost in the semifinals of the DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament last season.
It’s going to happen again to one of them this year, because they play each other in the semis at 8 p.m. Thursday at a sold-out Bob Carpenter Center. The DIAA announced Thursday afternoon that no more tickets are available for the semifinals. The Mount Pleasant-Sanford matchup is one between what many observers believe are the state’s top two teams.
“It’s our second trip here with this group, so they’ve got the experience of coming and playing on this stage,” Mount Pleasant coach Lisa Sullivan said. “… You know we’re not going to be in awe.”
The fourth-seeded Green Knights (19-3) may not be in awe, but they may be sweating against Mikey Dixon. Sanford’s 6-foot-2 senior guard has become the frontrunner for state Player of the Year, shooting 57 percent from the field while averaging 26.4 points per game.
“Sanford is the cream of the crop, so everybody gets to measure their program against Sanford,” Sullivan said. “We’re looking forward to the opportunity to play them and see where we’re at.”
The top-seeded Warriors (19-2) know where the Green Knights will be — close to Dixon. Often with more than one guy.
“Depth,” Dixon said, when asked to describe Mount Pleasant’s strength. “I think they can go 10 deep. They can sub a lot, and when they sub they really don’t lose anything.”
Sanford coach Stan Waterman is concerned with the Green Knights’ front line, as 6-5 freshman KVonn Cramer, 6-4 junior DeJon Backus and powerfully built 6-2 senior Ronald Shipman-Scott can turn any missed shot into a bucket.
“No. 1, we’ve got to keep them off the glass,” Waterman said. “They do a really nice job of offensive rebounding.”
This is the round where it ended for both teams last year. Salesianum knocked off Mount Pleasant 60-49, and Polytech broke Sanford’s heart with a 48-46 win. Then Sallies downed Polytech 52-45 in the final — which is where both of these teams want to be at 1 p.m. Saturday.
“We just have to stay together and do what we do. That’s the key,” Sullivan said. “Stay together and be true to who you are. And we know who we are.”
Thursday’s first semifinal, which tips off at 6:30, is a matchup of teams that weren’t supposed to be here — at least if you follow the seedings. No. 7 Delcastle (16-6) went to triple overtime to upset second-seeded William Penn 54-49 in the quarterfinals on Sunday. No. 6 St. Georges (19-4) survived a double-overtime opener against Concord, then outscored St. Thomas More 17-6 in the fourth quarter to win its quarterfinal 45-39.
“Delcastle is a tough, gritty team,” Hawks coach Rod Griffin said. “It seems like every possession, they make you fight for everything. You’ve got to earn it against them.”
The Cougars got off to a 3-5 start, but have won 13 of 14 since. Senior guards Ahmere Dorsey and Desmond Gould and sophomore forward Justin Gray-Smith lead a ferocious defense.
“If we can play defense the way we played in the overtime periods, take care of the ball and make free throws, I think we have a great shot,” Delcastle coach Kenny Avent said. “We have to do a better job of rebounding the ball and boxing out. I think if we had come down with a couple of those rebounds in regulation, maybe we don’t get to overtime.”
St. Georges has overcome the midseason loss of leading scorer Lamar Hamrick, thanks in large part to Kyson Rawls. The 6-1 junior point guard was averaging 14.5 points through the Hawks’ first 13 games, but has cranked it up to 24.1 per game as St. Georges has gone 8-1 since Hamrick’s departure.
“We said, ‘Hey, look, we’ve still got some players here,’” Griffin said. “We thought if we stayed focused and absolutely play hard on every play, we would have an opportunity to keep playing.”
The Hawks are also getting increased contributions from seniors Paul Brown, Mark Harris, Vincent Kent and Josh Williams and freshmen Nah’Shon Hyland and Michael McCants.
“Rawls is playing lights out for them right now,” Avent said. “I’ve seen them play a couple of times since they lost Hamrick, and every kid on that team has been stepping up.”
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @BradMyersTNJ
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