Distict 2 Boys 3A Quarter-Final (Mid Valley vs. Dunmore)

Written by: Jon K on February 22, 2024

February 21, 2024

Big Second Half Sends Mid Valley into Semi-Finals

Mid Valley 51, Dunmore 35

THROOP – After falling behind 10-0 five minutes into the contest, Dunmore regrouped and took advantage of several Mid Valley miscues and missed shots to climb back into their Boys 3A Quarter-Final game with a 14-2 run to take a three-point advantage into intermission. The Spartans, led by their speedy 5-7 junior guard Demaja Dunston, began to aggressively drive to the basket to start second half play. Dunston netted 18 of his game-high 26 points after halftime to help secure a 51-35 victory giving the Spartans a semi-final home game on Friday (after Lakeland defeated #2 seed Holy Redeemer 52-39). This one featured a terrific hoops playoff atmosphere played before an overflow crowd.

Mid Valley used a combination of balanced scoring and some terrific defense (including a pair of blocks by Kaleik Cook) to grab a 10-0 lead. Cook also got involved in the offense with a feed from Jacob Lesher along with a putback wrapped around a triple by Dunston. The Bucks were having trouble holding onto the ball, but finally got onto the board at the 2:46 mark as Brayden Canavan connected on a much-needed trey. Nate Aviles kept their momentum going with a drive to the bucket and a pair of free throws cutting it to 10-7 as Mid Valley committed back-to-back turnovers. Ricky Vinansky made a spin move in the lane for MV, but Dunmore came right back with a putback by Canavan to make it 12-9 heading to the second period.

The Bucks got a triple by Canavan and driving layup by Carter Sload to grab a brief 14-12 lead before Dunston knotted things up at 14. Sload then used his speed to intercept a pair of Mid Valley inbound lob passes, converting a layup on the first and dishing off for a Canavan layup on second, to grab an 18-15 edge with 2:25 remaining in the first half. Dunston then drilled his second trey before Cullen Smith hit a floater to send Dunmore into the break with a 21-18 lead.

Dunston made a driving basket and converted a pair of free throws 2:30 into the third quarter to put the Spartans back in front 22-21. He added a baseline jumper before Sload made a triple midway in the frame to tie it at 24. A minute later, Dunston continued his impressive effort with a powerful baseline drive that resulted in a traditional 3-point play. It ignited a 13-2 run. Dunston and Cook each made layups sending the Spartans into the final frame leading 33-26.

The Spartans grabbed a 37-26 edge on scores by Cook and Dunston. Smith made an athletic reverse layup for the Bucks approaching the five-minute mark to cut the gap to eight points (37-29). Cook countered with a layup before Jack McNeff made a nice move to score making it 38-31 midway through the stanza. MV then used an 8-0 run over the next 90 seconds (46-31) to help secure the 51-35 victory.

Mid Valley was led by Demaja Dunston with 26 points and Kaleik Cook with 13 points. Ricky Vinansky added 9 points. Jacob Lesher and Nathan Sadaka combined for 3 points. The Spartans connected on a triples and made 10 of their 19 free throws.

Dunmore was paced by Brayden Canavan with 11 points while Carter Sload added 8 points. Cullen Smith, Nate Aviles, Jack NcNeff, and Masiahs Cruz combined for 16 points. The Bucks hit 3 treys and made 6 of 14 opportunities from the charity stripe.

District 2 Boys 3A Quarter-Final, #6 seed Dunmore (8-14) vs. #3 seed Mid Valley (14-8). 7 pm tip. pic.twitter.com/PNelwlm1ZE

— LLHoops Neast Beat (@LLHoopsNEPbeat) February 21, 2024