BERLIN- It took the better part of three quarters, but Stephen Decatur’s boys’ varsity basketball team eventually wore down visiting Centennial, 65-47, last Saturday to capture the state 3A-East region championship and advance to the Final Four.
The Seahawks battled the Eagles last Saturday in front of a packed, standing-room only home gym for the 3A-East region title. The boys’ region championship game was the nightcap of a double-header at Decatur, which also featured the girls’ varsity team battling for a region title.
The top-seeded Seahawks had cruised past Northeast in its state playoff opener, but faced a stiff challenge from Hammond in a second round game that went to Decatur, 70-68, in overtime. Friday’s regional championship was postponed when school was cancelled by a light snowfall, setting up Saturday’s dramatic double-header. The line began forming about two hours before the girls’ regional title game and nobody had gone anywhere when the boys tipped it off in the late game.
Early in the game, neither team gained any separation as the Seahawks and Eagles sparred like a couple of heavyweights. Decatur had a 22-17 lead with just three minutes remaining in the second quarter, but Centennial rallied late to cut the lead to 24-22 at the half.
Seconds after the final horn sounded on the Seahawks’ 65-47 regional championship win over Centennial last Saturday, the Decatur faithful stormed the court and mobbed their heroes.
Photo by Shawn Soper
In the third quarter, however, Decatur made the appropriate adjustments and came out firing on offense. Just 20 seconds into the third, JaQuan Johnson scored a layup and added a put back just a minute later to extend the lead to 29-22. Another put back by Keve Aluma pushed the lead to 31-23 with 5:35 left in the third. In a decisive sequence with around three minutes left in the third, Aluma scored a second chance basket, Johnson added a layup and another steal set up a fast break layup for Aluma, and just like that Decatur led 37-25. The Seahawks went on a 13-3 run to start the second half and began to wear down the Eagles with their pressure defense and up-tempo offense. With time running down in the third, Torrey Brittingham found Keyon Eley with a great no-look pass and Eley converted to extend the lead to 41-31 at the end of the third.
Still, down just 10 points with a full quarter to go, Centennial was still very much in the contest although the big crowd was sensing it was starting to slip away for the Eagles. Brittingham opened the fourth with a layup, followed by steal and fast break basket by Eley. When Voyles nailed a little floater in the paint, the Seahawks had pushed the lead to 47-34 with just under six minutes remaining.
Darion McKenzie scored a layup and JaQuan Johnson had a steal and an easy basket to extend the lead to 52-34, but the next play appeared to break the Eagles’ backs. After a rebound, Brittingham lofted a long, three-quarter court alley oop pass to Eley, who soared up to the basket and slammed it home, extending the lead to a game-high 53-34 and igniting the big crowd. Centennial did not roll over and continued to battle, but the Seahawks made their foul shots down the stretch and controlled the clock and pulled away for the 65-47 win.
When the final horn sounded, the home crowd stormed the court and mobbed their heroes. After the regional championship trophy presentation, the Seahawks and their coached cut down the nets on their last home game of the season.
The regional championship sent the Seahawks to the Final Four at the Xfinity Center at the University of Maryland-College Park. Decatur played 3A-West champion Seneca Valley on Thursday night in a game played too late to be included in this edition. If the Seahawks prevailed, they would advance to the state championship game on Saturday at College Park against the winner of the other semifinal between C. Milton Wright and Huntingtown.