VIDEO: CAL boys semifinals – WCA scores late knockout to slip past Atlantic City; Prep handles Spirit

Posted: February 20th 2025

Alex Daniel, Riley Powell and Tayshaun Jackson each scored in double figures to lead Wildwood Catholic to a win over Atlantic City in a CAL semifinal game.

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

MILLVILLE – A four-year varsity player, Tayshaun Jackson is in the twilight of his high school basketball career at Wildwood Catholic Academy.

His coach, Will Wareham, never likes to see his seniors leave. But also loves what they can bring at this time of year.

“There’s nothing better in high school basketball than having seniors that don’t want it to be over,” Wareham said. “Tay has taken this on that he doesn’t want this to end. We want to play as many games as we possibly can and as many meaningful games as we possibly can.”

Thanks in part to Jackson’s efforts, Wildwood Catholic will play an extremely meaningful game this weekend. The 6-1 forward helped the Crusaders check into the Cape-Atlantic League championship game with a 62-58 victory over Atlantic City Wednesday at Millville High School. They’ll play St. Augustine Prep for the title Saturday at 2 p.m. at Egg Harbor Township High School.

“My first three years here, we didn’t get too far,” said Jackson, who posted 18 points and seven rebounds in the victory. “But now we’re here.”

Wildwood Catholic will appear in the CAL title game for the first time since winning three straight titles in 2018-20.

“Tay came to Wildwood Catholic on the tail end of the glory days, so it would mean a lot to us to send him and the other seniors out by hanging a banner, so they can leave here saying they were a part of that,” Wareham said.

The semifinal between fifth-seeded Wildwood Catholic and top-seeded Atlantic City was like a heavyweight boxing match, with each team trading haymakers at one another. Neither team led by more than five points at any stage of the game. The lead changed hands numerous times and there were quite a few ties throughout. But in the end, Wildwood Catholic scored a 15th-round technical knockout by finishing the game on a 13-5 run.

A long three-pointer by Peaky Roseborough gave Atlantic City a four-point lead at 53-49 with 2 minutes, 52 seconds to play. That, however, was the Vikings’ last field goal of the game. Ryan McGrath sank a baseline three-pointer and Jackson and Riley Powell followed with baskets in the lane as Wildwood Catholic took the lead for good with seven straight points. Free throws by Atlantic City’s Dontae Day-Thompson brought the Vikings within a point, but Wildwood Catholic’s Alex Daniel scored with 50 seconds remaining and later added a free throw. Powell then went 3 for 4 from the line in the final 25 seconds to seal the result for Wildwood Catholic (18-7).

“I think the difference late was that we showed a little more composure over the last three minutes than maybe we did over the first 29,” Wareham said. “Maybe the environment and the emotions got to us a little bit. But in the last three or four minutes, I thought we showed a lot of composure.

“We’ve had so many close games this season. We don’t have many easy wins and almost all of our losses are in games that went down to the wire. So at the end of the day, we might have been a little more battle tested than Atlantic City was.”

Powell was instrumental in the victory for Wildwood Catholic. After a slow start that saw him finish the first quarter without a field goal, the 6-7 senior ended the contest with 21 points and 12 rebounds. He scored 15 of his points in the second half, nine in the fourth quarter, and went 9 for 11 from the foul line. Daniel danced around foul trouble – he sat on the bench for approximately 5 ½ minutes of the third quarter after picking up his third foul – to provide 14 points and four rebounds.

Roseborough led Atlantic City (19-6) with 22 points. Chris Finks added 15 and Day-Thompson chipped in 11.

Wildwood Catholic, which has never lost a CAL title game, will be going for its fifth title overall on Saturday. The Crusaders will face a St. Augustine Prep team with which they split two games during the regular season, with each team winning on its home floor.

“I can’t wait for Saturday,” Jackson said. “St. Augustine’s got some good guys over there. But I’m a senior and I want to go out with a bang.” 

PREP HANDLES HOLY SPIRIT

The first semifinal was not as dramatic as the second, as sixth-seeded St. Augustine Prep used a crafty matchup zone to frustrate Holy Spirit throughout in a 48-26 Hermits’ victory.

Holy Spirit, attempting to continue its Cinderella run through the tournament as the No. 10 seed, scored the first five points of the game, only to see No. 6 St. Augustine rally to take a 21-17 lead at the half. The Hermits then took control of the game with a 13-2 run in the third quarter, a period in which five different Hermit players scored.

Senior Rory Friel scored 18 points and freshman Jacob Plenn added nine points for St. Augustine (15-12).

Jordan Gonzalez sank 17 points for Holy Spirit (17-8), which scored just seven points in the second half.

St. Augustine will play for its 12th CAL title on Saturday against Wildwood Catholic. The Hermits were last in the championship two seasons ago. They last won the CAL title game in 2017.