By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Dah’mere Brown led three in double figures as Vertus Academy defeated Wilson Magnet, 65-52 in non-league action on Thursday.
Brown accounted for five of his 16 points in the first quarter when the Warriors scored the game’s first 18 and took a 24-4 lead after the first eight minutes of play.
“It was defense, defense, defense,” Vertus head coach Anthony Givens said of the opening run. “We had a lot of energy to start the game, and we were able to get steals and score.”
The win was the second straight for Vertus which finished the regular season with a record of 11-9. The Warriors are slotted as the No. 8 seed in Class A.
Dah’mere Brown goes the length of the floor for a layup. @VertusAthletics pic.twitter.com/rznjPN8NYr
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 20, 2025
Dah’mere Brown, hurt and harm. @VertusAthletics 39-24 early third. pic.twitter.com/AqX6ajbLhK
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 21, 2025
“The kids have really bought into what we’re doing,” Givens said. “We switched defenses a couple games ago to a 1-3-1. It took them some time to learn it, but now they are starting to understand their defensive assignments.”
Brown’s backcourt mate Terrance Marble added 14 points in the win.
“Those two are a big reason why we are playing well. They get stops and get us in transition.”
Vertus took a 35-17 lead into halftime.
Dah’mere Brown finishes in the lane. Josh Ellington answers at the other end. @VertusAthletics 54-43 pic.twitter.com/ohCGOUv7BE
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 21, 2025
Wilson opened the third quarter on a 9-4 run, and Ibrahim Hakizimana’s runner with 5:54 remaining in the game cut the deficit to single digits at 49-40.
Jesse Lynn hits the baseline runner and the lead is single digits. @VertusAthletics 49-40. @SecVBBasketball pic.twitter.com/2dptmYNGYL
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) February 21, 2025
“That’s what they’ve been doing all year,” said Wilson head coach Victor Norflee II. “Unfortunately, we get down, but we’ve got fight in us. Our guys never give up. That’s what I like about this team and can take into the rebuilding process for next year.”
Hakizimana and Josh Ellington scored 11 apiece to lead the Wildcats (4-16). Darius Harris added 10.
“It was getting stops,” Norflee said of the second-half rally. “It was getting some pressure on the ball. We had to wait until the third quarter to do that because we had some foul trouble early, but when we were able to get the pressure like we wanted to good things happened.”
Wilson is the No. 9 seed in the unofficial Class AA2 standings.
Sectional pairings will be announced this weekend.
VERTUS ACADEMY (11-9)
Dah’mere Brown 7 1-4 16, Anthony Graham 1 0-0 2, Terrance Marble 5 4-7 14, Denim Weaver 4 0-0 8, Naveire Hamilton-Shaw 1 0-0 2, Darnell Santos 3 2-2 11, Brian Holloway 2 0-0 5, Na’vany Harrison 3 2-8 8 TOTALS 26 9-21 — 65
WILSON MAGNET (4-16)
Ibrahim Hakizimana 4 1-2 11, Darius Harris 3 3-3 10, Jahmez Larkins 0 0-0 0, Jesse Lyn 1 2-2 4, Linus Flood 0 0-0 0, Josh Ellington 5 1-1 11, Jayden Ingram 3 3-6 9, Aaron Riley 1 0-0 3, Joseph Baldrich 2 0-0 4 TOTALS 19 10-14 — 52
VERTUS ACADEMY 24 11 14 17 — 65
WILSON MAGNET 4 13 17 18 — 52
3-point goals: VERTUS ACADEMY 5 (Brown 1, Santos 3, Holloway 1); WILSON MAGNET 4 (Hakizimana 2, Harris 1, Ingram 1).
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