Destiny 71, Roncalli 54
Darlington 63, Cameron 52
Destiny (24-1) will play for the State championship in Division 3 Saturday following a 71-54 victory over Roncalli in the semifinals of the State Boys Basketball Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison Thursday evening.
Romaine Robinson came off the bench to ignite the Eagles in the first half, scoring 15 points of his team-high 19 points. His efforts contributed to Destiny’s 21-0 scoring advantage from players off the bench in the half. Destiny used a 9-0 run to end the period to take a double-digit lead into the locker room at halftime, 35-23.
The Jets fought back to get within seven points at 48-41 with 10:47 remaining, but a 14-4 Eagles’ run extinguished any hopes for a Roncalli comeback.
Zachary Markland and Pierre Johnson each joined Robinson in double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively, for the Eagles. Sarion McGee also contributed with a solid game, leading the team with 10 rebounds and eight assists to go with his nine points.
The Eagles made the most of their size advantage inside, scoring 40 points from inside the lane and outrebounding Roncalli 38-28.
Mitchel Schneider led all scorers with 22 points for the Jets. He also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and handed out five assists. Chombi Lambert chipped in with 12 points.
Destiny will play for the State title in its first-ever appearance at State, and Roncalli (13-14) ends its season with its sixth appearance.
Darlington (27-0) remains undefeated with a 63-52 triumph over Cameron in the Division 4 semifinals of the State Boys Basketball Tournament Thursday evening at the Kohl Center.
The Comets scored first, but it would be their only lead of the game. Ryan Glendenning hit a three-point shot that put the Redbirds up to stay at the 16:28 mark of the first half. The first period statistics were relatively even. The difference that led to a 35-22 halftime lead for the Redbirds was their 6-1 edge in three-pointers and their 13-0 advantage in points off turnovers.
In the second half, Cameron could only trim its deficit down six points with just under 11 minutes to play before Darlington answered by building its advantage back to 13 points with five minutes remaining and again at the 1:14 mark. The Redbirds clinched the victory by making 11-of-12 attempts from the charity stripe in the final 2:39.
Trevor Johnson led all scorers with 20 points for the Redbirds. Glendenning added 17 points, and Wll Schwartz chipped in with 14. Hunter Johnson contributed a team-high seven rebounds and six assists. Cameron was led by Victor Martinez with 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.Gunner Wilder also scored in double figures with 13 points.
Darlington advances to the title game for first time since their only other State appearance resulted in a Class C championship in 1990. Last year’s runner-up Cameron ends its season at State in its second appearance.