Latrell Wright scores 18 in 4Q, lifting Salesianum over Middletown with last-second layup

WILMINGTON — Salesianum got some measure of revenge from losing to Middletown in the football state championship game and grabbed a heart-pounding come-from-behind basketball win 69-68 Friday night.

It was the first meeting between the schools since Middletown roared back from an 18-point halftime deficit to grab a 30-27 overtime win in late November.

The Sals trailed the Cavaliers for most of the game and well into the fourth quarter. With 6.8 seconds left in the game, Latrell Wright of Salesianum took the inbounds pass the length of the floor and made a layup in the final seconds to give Salesianum the one-point victory.

Wright scored 18 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Sals to victory, finishing the game with 27. 

The Sals entered the game with a 1-9 record after playing a tough out-of-state schedule and having only beaten Appoquinimink in two in-state games.

It was a much-needed win for the Sals. After the game, Coach Taylor Trevisan said the win “means we fought. We stuck together.  We responded to adversity. The basketball wasn’t perfect, and it never will be. But our responses multiple times to runs and adversity was key.”

The Sals (2-9) will face in-state opponents the rest of the season, starting Sunday when they host St. Elizabeth’s at 2 p.m.

Middletown evened its record at 5-5 and has alternated wins and losses all season. That would appear to be good news in advance of Mt. Pleasant coming to Middletown on Tuesday.

Asked what the win means for the team, Trevisan said, “It truly gives us something to build off of in a basketball sense moving forward for the rest of the season.”