By RAY COONEY

The Graphic Printing Company

NEW CASTLE — The Eagles were holding for the final shot of the opening half.

Jackson Wors drove into the lane, pulled up and drained a jumper with five seconds on the clock.

Suddenly the ball was in D'Amare Hood's hands as he swooped in front of Yorktown's attempted inbound pass. He turned his head, saw Kaiden Bond and passed him the ball. Bond raised up on the left wing with the Tigers' Anson Isaacs flying at him and buried a 3-pointer at the buzzer that had the Eagles skipping off the floor while their crowd roared.

There was plenty more celebrating to come.

The five points in five seconds to close the half shifted all the momentum in No. 7 Delta High School's direction Saturday night as they earned a championship repeat with a 55-41 victory over Yorktown in the Class 3A Sectional 24 boys basketball tournament at New Castle.

"Jackson got that big bucket and I knew they were just trying to get it in as quick as they could," said Hood. "So I saw the opportunity to take it. I got it to my teammate Kaiden and he hit an amazing shot. … It was an awesome play."

"It feels great," he added. "Back to back. We're looking to make it another back-to-back next week."

The Wors jumper would have been a solid boost heading into halftime. The Hood steal and Bond 3-pointer launched the Eagles into intermission with a nine-point lead.

That advantage never slipped to fewer than four after, as Delta earned its fourth sectional title in the last six years.

"It never gets any less fun," said DHS coach Mark Detweiler. "I'm just proud of them — their poise and again their fearless approach. … It's where they were mentally all week. I just had a good feeling about where they were. Their approach was good in practice. I mean, they were just locked in. … I believe there was just an expectation … 'Hey, we're going to do this.'"

Delta (21-6), which has now won eight in a row, advances to the regional tournament Saturday to play Concordia (14-12). The game will be played at 4 p.m. at Lapel following a Class 2A regional between Wapahani and Tipton at 1 p.m.

Concordia earned its regional berth with a 62-58 sectional championship win Saturday over Leo.

After the explosive end of the first half, Jonny Manor scored on an assist from Jayden Furney to start the third quarter for a 32-20 Eagle lead. Yorktown (14-11) got to within six, and then five, and then finally four when Kieran Tewari backed down Manor on the left baseline for a bucket with 3:33 to play.

But each time the Tigers closed in, Delta found a way to get a stop or a steal or otherwise make a play to keep control.

"We know when we're playing our best defense, we can compete with anybody in the state," said Hood, who finished with a dozen points and four rebounds. "So we just kept on defense no matter how many runs they came on, we got a next steal, we got a next block. That was a difference-maker tonight."

Furney and Hood each went 4-for-4 on free throws in the fourth quarter as Delta scored 13 of its 18 points in the final period from the line. It outscored the Tigers 18-3 at the foul line.

Mason Moulton was the lone Yorktown player to reach double figures as he finished with 13 points. Jacob Grim, Jabin Barnes and Tewari each had eight points.

The Eagles had split two regular-season games against Yorktown, winning 54-52 on Dec. 8 and then falling 61-44 in the championship game of the Delaware County tournament.

The teams traded punches early Saturday to an 8-8 tie, but Delta tallied the final five points of the first period including a Manor triple from the right wing with one second left. Bronson Edwards hit a 3-pointer to start the second quarter and then assisted on a Hood hoop for a quick 10-0 run that set the tone.

"Both the first and the second (game), they got up early, 10-plus," said Manor, who scored eight of his game-high 15 points in the opening quarter. "And so we knew we had to throw the first punch and get the lead. And from there we knew we could win. And that's what we did."

Students stormed the court as Delta principal and IHSAA executive committee chair Chris Conley presented the sectional championship trophy.

The 2022-23 Eagles followed up their sectional championship by winning their first regional title since 2009. Now they're hoping to go back-to-back.

"It's great," said Manor. "I'm just ready for next week though."

For additional photos, go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/r3DnVcUBJYd4uzw26