In front of its home crowd, Wilmington claimed its own Class 2A regional championship – the program’s first regional title since 1988 – with a 54-43 win over Seneca on Friday night.
Wilmington head coach Doug Krop didn’t hide his emotions after the final buzzer.
“I’m just really proud of them,” Krop said. “This team worked extremely hard, and it’s a great group of kids. They sacrificed a lot, but all year long it didn’t matter who we played or who did what. These guys came out every single day and competed and wanted to win the right way.”
Outside of the first few minutes, Wilmington held a sizable lead throughout the game by pushing the pace in transition. The Wildcats went up 15-10 by the end of the first quarter, then forced a barrage of Seneca turnovers in the second quarter that led to easy transition buckets.
Wilmington held the Fighting Irish to just five points in the second, extending the lead to 18 by halftime.
“That’s kind of been our M.O. all year. We’ve got to get stops to be able to run,” Krop said. “We’re a really good transition team, but we have to get stops in order to do that. Sometimes we’re not the greatest in the half-court.
“Our program and team mentality is about getting stops so we can run. You’ve got to play harder and smarter than everybody else. We did that for the majority of the game, not the whole game, but we won.
“At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”
Senior guard Ryan Kettman was constantly jumping passing lanes. He certainly provided a spark for the Wildcats in transition, finishing with 24 points and six steals.
“Ryan and I started together when he was a freshman, and it’s been a pleasure to coach him,” Krop said. “All I can say is that he’s a warrior. He’s just got a winner’s DNA, and it rubs off. I love the kid”
When the Wildcats did get settled in their half-court sets, junior forward Declan Moran was a big contributor, constantly crashing the offensive boards and giving Wilmington second-chance opportunities. Moran finished with a double-double, putting up 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Despite being down big, the Fighting Irish lived up to their namesake and battled back in the fourth quarter.
Trailing 44-29 entering the fourth, Seneca turned to its half-court trap and forced 12 turnovers. The Irish gave themselves plenty of opportunities and cut the deficit to seven with just over three minutes left, but couldn’t do enough offensively to close the gap completely.
“We were getting turnovers, but just couldn’t convert it on the other end,” Seneca coach Nathaniel Meiss said. “Its tough. We missed some open layups and missed four free throws late. We make a couple of those layups, make a couple free throws, and instead of being down seven, maybe it’s one? ...
“I’m absolutely proud of the way they didn’t lay down though. You’re down 18 at half, and they very well could have said, It’s done.’ But they kept chiseling their way back and giving themselves opportunities.
“This team has a lot of heart, and it showed tonight”
In his first year at Seneca, Meiss wanted to shout out his seniors.
“They had a tough task,” he said. “They had been in a program for three years, and we changed almost everything. They did a great job adjusting. They bought into what we were trying to do, and many of them showed great leadership. I’m really proud of them.”
Among those senior leaders is center Zeb Maxwell, who played all 32 minutes and was a force in the paint, leading the Irish with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
With the victory, Wilmington will advance to the Class 2A Seneca Sectional and will play Tuesday night against Bishop McNamara.
“We’ve had a good year so far, and live to play another day. I give Seneca a lot of credit. They played a tremendous second half. They have a lot of class – a good coach, good program – but nobody deserves this win more than our guys.”