By RAY COONEY

The Graphic Printing Company

NEW CASTLE — D'Amare Hood and Jackson Wors have been the Eagles' scoring leaders all season.

But the Furneys were on Friday night, so the seniors who combine for more than 30 points per game stepped aside to let them heat up the fieldhouse.

Brothers Jayden and Jordan Furney accounted for 20 of No. 7 Delta High School's first 22 points Friday night as it opened a double-digit lead in the first quarter and stayed in control for a 54-41 victory over the host New Castle Trojans in the semifinal round of the Class 3A Sectional 24 boys basketball tournament.

"We trust each other," said DHS coach Mark Detweiler. "Wednesday it was Kaiden Bond stepping up and our teammates had trust in him. Tonight the Furney brothers were special. I thought they got us off to a great start.

"When you've got kids like Jackson, D'Amare, they've been very unselfish … And so they've taken fewer shots in the tournament so far for us and let those guys get going. So the depth has been key."

The Eagles (20-6) advance to play Yorktown (14-10) in the sectional championship game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The Tigers saw a double-digit lead slip away in their semifinal game Friday before pulling away from Hamilton Heights again for a 64-53 win.

The Trojans (12-12), who Delta beat 60-45 during the regular season, got the opening hoop Friday before the Furneys took over. Older brother Jayden, a senior, tallied the Eagles' first six points on a three-point play followed by a 3-pointer off of a Hood assist. Then, with the game tied at 6-6, younger brother Jordan, a junior, buried a triple from the left corner.

Delta never trailed again.

After Wors got the lone non-Furney bucket of the first 11 minutes, Jayden hit another triple and then his brother tossed in a runner for a 16-6 lead. By halftime, Jayden had 15 of his game-high 17 points and Jordan had all of his 10. 

The brothers led an efficient Eagle effort as the team hit for 14-of-19 (74%) from the field in the first half.

Meanwhile, Delta limited the Trojans to 2-of-8 shooting in the second quarter.

"What we've done defensively just continues to be what we hang our hat on," said Detweiler. "We stay in a stance. We stay in front of ya. Guys have been really, really good at staying disciplined on the defensive end of the floor.

"We knew tonight, because they shoot the three so darn well, that we had to be there on every catch. … I thought we did a great job."

New Castle was able to cut the Eagles' 16-points halftime lead to 10 on three occasions in the second half. Each time Delta responded, first with a three-point play from point guard Jonny Manor to open the fourth quarter, then with another Manor drive and finally with a Jayden Furney slash to the basket for his final points of the game.

Wors joined the Furneys in double figues with 11 points while also grabbing a team-high five rebounds.

Colin Taylor matched Jayden Furney with 17 points to lead New Castle, but no other Trojans reached double figures.

Having vanquished one green-clad Hoosier Heritage Conference rival, the Eagles move on to the rubber match against another with the sectional championship on the line.

Saturday's game will mark the third meeting this year between Delta and Yorktown. The Eagles won the first 54-52 on Dec. 8 before falling 61-44 in the championship game of the Delaware County tournament.

"We've just got to be who were are defensively and then trust our offense," said Detweiler, whose Delta squad is trying to repeat as the sectional champion after advancing all the way to the semi-state title game a year ago. (Yorktown was the 2022 sectional champion.) "It's one of those games where we've got to make them move … 

"Our on-ball presence has got to be really good tomorrow night. That's going to be a big factor in the game."

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