BERLIN- Worcester Prep’s boys’ varsity basketball team’s big run in the second half of the season culminated with a 55-45 win over Salisbury School in the Eastern Shore Independent Athletic Conference (ESIAC) championship game last Friday.
The Mallards see-sawed their way through the early part of the season and entered the holiday break with a mediocre 3-3 mark. Worcester split two games in the Governor’s Challenge tournament, then really started hitting their stride in January, closing out the regular season with an 8-1 run.
Last Wednesday, the Worcester boys beat Holly Grove in the ESIAC semifinals to advance to the championship game. On Friday, the Mallards overcame a big run by Salisbury School in the middle of the championship game and pulled away for the 55-45 win over the Dragons to capture the conference championship.
Worcester started fast in the title game, opening a quick 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Salisbury School battled back in the second quarter and took an 18-15 lead into halftime. With about three minutes left in the third quarter, Worcester’s Colin Miller scored and was fouled, then converted a free throw to complete the three-point play, giving the Mallards their first lead of the game.
Miller ended up leading Worcester with 18 points, all in the second half. Salisbury School made a couple of mini-runs in the fourth, but Worcester pulled away for the 55-45 win to capture the ESIAC championship. Worcester outscored Salisbury School, 40-27, in the second half after a low-scoring first half.