Delta picked up a 70-59 boys basketball win Tuesday at Union City. The game was tied after the first quarter, but the Eagles then built a six-point lead at halftime and an 18-point lead at the end of the third quarter.
Union City used pressure defense to make up some of the deficit in the fourth quarter, but it was not enough as Delta picked up the 11-point win.
The Eagles (2-4) were guided offensively by the Slaven brothers. Senior guard Kameron Slaven scored 25 points, as did junior post player Kaleb Slaven. Kameron Slaven hit all five of the Eagles’ 3-pointers.
Tanner Lambert was the third Eagle to go into double-figures, scoring 13 points.
• Liberty Christian 61, Yorktown 52: The Class A No. 2 Lions proved to be a bit too much for the Tigers. Riley Miller led the way for Yorktown (3-2) with 15 points. Carson Moore also cracked double-figures with 12 points.
• Seton Catholic 73, Union 52: Seton Catholic junior Desmond Bane made sure Tuesday’s boys basketball result versus rival Union was just like last March’s game in the Class A sectional final.
And it was.
The now 6-1 Cardinals pulled away from the visiting Rockets Tuesday night in Chuck Mosey Gymnasium to win 73-52 behind a school-record 40-point explosion from Bane, winning its sixth straight since an opening loss to Centerville.
Union came out hot and forced the speedy Seton team to push all the way to drop the visitors to 1-4 on the season.
Early, the Rockets scored 10 straight points after an early deuce by Bane, a foretelling of how the entire game would go for the home team.
In a racehorse first quarter, Union led 15-8 before the midway point, but Seton tightened its defense and kept it that way the rest of the night.
By quarter’s end, it was 19-18 Rockets, and after each team scored 11 points in a much slower paced second quarter, the visitors still led 30-29 at intermission.
Union’s Saleem Malik, a senior who came to Union from Southside after the closure of that high school, had 14 first-half points for the Rockets, but Bane had 18 in the first half for Seton, including the first 11 of the game.
He was just getting warmed up.
Bane piled up 14 more in the third quarter as Seton took control, outscoring Union 25-9 in the game’s pivotal eight minutes.
The 6-3 junior, one of the state’s highest scorers, finished with 13 two-point field goals, three treys, and five of six from the free-throw line. He also snared 20 rebounds and blocked numerous shots.
“We always treat them (Union) as our rivals. We play them during the season and then in our sectional, so we always have wanted to beat the Rockets,” a smiling Bane said.
Seton and Union both played without two key players Tuesday. The Cardinals were without Cliff Dickman and Jacob Rogers; Union was without Kaulen Jenkins and Tanner Shore.
“On our team, it’s always about the fact that every guy on the team can play, so it is just next man up when it is your time to play,” Bane said.
For Seton, Billie Webster added 11 points, plus a strong defensive job on Malik in the second half, limiting him to just six points, all of those in the third quarter. Freshman Ellis Washington added eight points for the Cardinals, while Matt Westjohn contributed seven points, Colten Pipenger had five and freshman Zach Rogers a two-pointer in the fourth quarter.
Malik finished with 20 points for Union, and Stephen Winningham added 16.
“Union came out and did a good job early and were more ready to play than we were, and that is on me,” said Seton coach Josh Jurgens. “But the guys came back. We dug in on defense in the second half, and played defense like we can. With a talent like Desmond and our defense, our offense can take care of itself, and that is what happened (Tuesday).”
For Union, only six players saw action, and the pace seemed to catch up to the Rockets.
“We had a really good start, and they made a run. We hung in, but we just had a bad stretch there in the third quarter, and I don’t know if maybe fatigue became a factor. We didn’t have two of our key kids. I don’t know,” said Union coach Dan Carmony. “Saleem had a great game for us, but Bane is tough. He has size and athleticism, can shoot the outside shot and can get to the hole with his strength. We are going to keep battling, and we’re getting better.”
Union’s Jenkins is out for a couple of weeks, Carmony said, while Jurgens said he expected that Dickman would not return until after the New Year’s holiday for Seton. Shore for the Rockets and Jacob Rogers for the Cardinals are expected back for weekend games.
Seton meets Northeastern Saturday night at Earlham College, while Union hosts Monroe Central Friday night.
Ron Greeson (for The Palladium-Item) contributed to this report.