DeLaSalle crushes Princeton in Class 3A boys' basketball semifinals

DeLaSalle senior Tyrell Terry, who stands 6-3 but weighs just 155 pounds, knows the drill: Opposing basketball teams are going to pound him.

Terry, the Islanders' Stanford-bound point guard, absorbed his share of contact in the Class 3A semifinal against Princeton. Flattened by a hard foul with 3.4 seconds to go in the first half Thursday, Terry regrouped to sink two free throws.

Those shots were good for his confidence as well as momentum. DeLaSalle built a 12-point lead it would only grow in a 93-54 rout.

"A lot of teams try to be physical with me because of my build and they think it's a way they can get to my head," Terry said. "I've dealt with that quite a bit this season, so it wasn't anything new."

"We tried to make them earn every shot they took," Tigers senior center Jon Stimmler said.

Terry finished with 22 points and sped the No. 1-seeded Islanders' offense up and down the court. No. 4 seed Princeton, the highest-scoring team in Class 3A (84.8 points per game), tried keeping pace with DeLaSalle to no avail.

"All year we've prepared to play with those guys and run at that tempo," Stimmler said. "I thought we ran pretty well in the first half."

The Islanders, third in Class 3A in scoring (78.4), led 42-30 at halftime.

"We like to base our offense on tempo, get the ball up quick," Terry said. "They did it as well, so it was a fun game to play fast."

DeLaSalle found its range with five three-pointers in the second half. Senior forward Jamison Battle hit four of those triples and led all players with 28 points. Princeton, meanwhile, finished 5-for-25 from the three-point arc. The Tigers' scoring leaders were Adam Williams (21 points) and Stimmler (13).

DeLaSalle goes for its seventh state title in eight seasons Saturday.