Last Thursday, January 27, the Tatnall Hornets Varsity Boys Basketball team battled gamely against conference rivals and the defending state champion Sanford Warriors before ultimately falling short. The effort and passion were evident throughout the contest, and the Hornets were in the game until the final buzzer. The Warriors opened the game hot, but captain MarQuel Fitzgerald '23 swiped the rock and made a driving layup to pull Tatnall back to within a 13-8 deficit. Eli Baffone '24 splashed a long three at the first-quarter buzzer, but after a quick discussion, the referees determined that the shot had left his fingertips a fraction of a second too late, and the bucket was wiped away. Tatnall found themselves down 16-8 at the end of one.
Captain Isaiah Sales '24 cut-through traffic for a pretty layup early in the second, and the defense forced a stop and got the rebound. Beautiful ball movement and a patient offense found Isaiah on the top of the critical open, and he sunk a three. Sanford continued to play well, but Isaiah kept the Hornets afloat offensively with an offensive rebound putback that made the score 25-17 Sanford with two minutes left in the half. Captain Brody Clayton '22 made a pretty inside jumper, and the defense got another stop. Still, momentum swung back the Warriors way when Fitzgerald couldn't hit the front end of a one-and-one on the free-throw line, and Sanford was able to convert a long three at the buzzer.
However, the Hornets weren't discouraged entering the second half 28-17. Isaiah Sales found Fitzgerald for a tough inside bucket, then splashed a three of his own from the top of the key after Jace Banks '25 and Fitzgerald teamed up to get a steal. That big bucket trimmed the Sanford lead to 36-29. Fitzgerald broke his man down off the dribble and found Clayton for a gorgeous rainbow three at the close of the period, and Tatnall was down 39-32 entering the final period.
The Warrior defense jumped on Isaiah Sales, but he calmly found Banks, and the freshman buried a huge three to make it a four-point game with 6:40 left. After Sanford committed a lane violation on the front end of a one and one, captain Caleb Sales '22 found his brother for another long three, again making it a four-point contest. Sanford continued to play well, but Fitzgerald forced a steal and found Banks for an acrobatic and-one off the attack. Banks was unable to convert from the charity stripe, but Fitzgerald got the offensive board and called a timeout before an attempted tie-up. There simply weren't enough seconds left on the clock, though, and Sanford was able to hit enough free throws to carry the day, 52-44. Isaiah Sales finished with seventeen points and four rebounds, and Fitzgerald added eight and had a team-high thirteen boards. Baffone added six, and Clayton and Banks added five apiece. It was an encouraging effort with a disappointing result, but the Hornets showed they are more than capable of playing with anyone on any given night.
Following this tough loss, the Tatnall Hornets Boys Varsity Basketball team dropped a walk-off heartbreaker at the buzzer to Brandywine, falling 41-40 on Tuesday, February 1 on the road. In the fourth quarter, the Hornets held an eight-point lead but could never put the Bulldogs away. Missed free throws and defensive lapses left the door open, and Brandywine was able to knock down a three from the corner at the buzzer for the victory. Captain Isaiah Sales '23 led the Hornets with seventeen points, nine rebounds, and five blocked shots. Captain MarQuel Fitzgerald '23 added seven.
The pair of tough defeats drop the Hornets season record to 7-5, and the Varsity and JV teams host conference rivals Wilmington Christian on Friday, February 4. The Tatnall 3rd team travels to St. Elizabeth's on Wednesday, February 2, with a full report coming on all the action next week.
