By Ron Poniewasz Jr.

New Castle News




The Wilmington High boys basketball team ran into a scoring machine last night.

Two of them, actually.

Matthew Dogan poured in a game-high 45 points to lead West Middlesex to a 102-69 District 10, Region 2-AA home win over the Greyhounds.

The loss appears to end Wilmington’s playoff hopes as well. The Greyhounds (5-7 region, 8-14 overall) needed Sharpsville to lose, but the Blue Devils (6-6, 12-10) hung on for a 62-57 region win over Greenville (1-11, 5-17).

“We needed to win and get some help,” Wilmington coach Mike Jeckavitch said. “Now we really have slim chances to get an at-large bid.

“The guys battled all season long. I like what we have coming back. I like where we’re heading. I think the kids are working real hard.”

Dogan set the Mercer County all-time scoring record in the win. He has 2,064 points, breaking the old mark of 2,022 set by Kyle Randall in 2007-2008.

Dogan netted 17 of his points in the fourth quarter. He posted 11 tallies in the first quarter and nine more in the second period.

The region-champion Big Reds (12-0, 19-3) built a 23-5 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. Wilmington trailed 49-23 at the break.

“They started three guys that were 6-foot-6,” Jeckavitch said. “Their length bothered us a little bit.

“We were a little hesitant shooting the ball. After the first quarter, we scored right with them. I thought we played with class.”

Rocco Fagan paced the Greyhounds with team-highs of 15 points and six assists, while Jordan Smith added 14 markers and seven rebounds. Nate Anthony tossed in 11 points for the guests.

Jesse Hilliard pulled down a team-high eight rebounds for Wilmington and Travis Brumbaugh snared seven.

(Email: rponiewasz@ncnewsonline.com)