Free throws send Woodbridge past William Penn

BRIDGEVILLE – Even with 10 players from Woodbridge and William Penn running all over the court for 40 minutes, Friday night’s game was decided when everyone was standing still.

Woodbridge hit 83.3 percent of its free throws. William Penn only made 40.9 percent from the line, and that made the difference as the Blue Raiders thrilled their home fans with a 60-54, double-overtime victory in the second round of the DIAA Boys Basketball Tournament.

“Execution and free throws,” Woodbridge coach Julius Cannon said. “We made our free throws.”

The fourth-seeded Blue Raiders (19-3) advanced to the quarterfinals against fifth-seeded Smyrna at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Bob Carpenter Center. It will be a rematch of the Henlopen Conference championship game, won by Smyrna 61-51 on Feb. 24 at Cape Henlopen.

“I don’t know the last time Woodbridge has been this far,” Cannon said. “We’ve got a lot of seniors, and we want them to keep playing as long as they can play. We’re looking forward to going.”

William Penn (12-10), the 13th seed, trailed most of the night. The Colonials finally pulled even in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t overcome their troubles at the line. Woodbridge also won the rebounding battle, 36-27.

“We thought the game would come down to the little things, rebounding and free-throwing shooting,” William Penn coach Steve Christensen said. “They probably beat us in both of those categories, so credit to them. I thought we had some chances. We just didn’t make the plays when we needed to.”

Junior Hassan Corbin put together a huge first half for Woodbridge, scoring 16 points and pulling down nine rebounds to carry the Blue Raiders to a 27-21 halftime lead.

Senior Cornell Corbin sat much of the first half due to foul trouble, but scored nine straight points to push Woodbridge to a 43-38 lead with 4:18 to play. The Colonials chipped away, tying it at 43 on Brahin Riley’s free throw with 1:53 to go, and both teams missed 3-point attempts in the final seconds to send it into overtime.

Two foul shots by Te’Vion Waters put the Blue Raiders up 47-44 with 26.1 seconds left. But William Penn’s Gerrad Wall was fouled while trying a half-court heave with 1.5 seconds left. On a night that saw the Colonials hit only 9 of 22 free throws, Wall made three in a row to send it to a second OT.

“That was unbelievable,” Christensen said. “Gerrad, as a junior, first year of playing varsity basketball, first real experience in the state tournament … he showed a lot of heart.”

Cornell Corbin opened the second OT with two layups. William Penn missed two foul shots, and Waters scored off an offensive rebound to make it 53-47. Then Woodbridge hit 7 of 9 free throws to put it away.

“We like to turn teams over. We really couldn’t turn them over,” Cannon said. “So we had to play smart.”

The Blue Raiders hit 15 of 18 foul shots overall. Hassan Corbin finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Corbell Corbin had 15 points and eight boards. Riley and Jermal Crumel each had 15 points and seven rebounds for William Penn.

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

Woodbridge’s Hassan Corbin break away dunk against William Penn on Friday, March 3, 2017 in Greenwood, De.

William Penn’s Dasir King is fouled as he goes to the basket against Woodbridge on Friday, March 3, 2017 in Greenwood, De.

William Penn’s Brahin Riley with the easy basket over Woodbridge on Friday, March 3, 2017 in Greenwood, De.

William Penn’s Jermal Crumel with the 3-Point attempt against Woodbridge on Friday, March 3, 2017 in Greenwood, De.

Woodbridge’s Troy Haynes with the 3-Point basket against William Penn on Friday, March 3, 2017 in Greenwood, De.

Woodbridge’s Hassab Corbin with the basket against William Penn on Friday, March 3, 2017 in Greenwood, De.

William Penn’s Brahin Riley with the basket over Woodbridge on Friday, March 3, 2017 in Greenwood, De.