Delaware
Delaware Valley Regional boys basketball can’t complete game of catch-up in H/W/S semis
Delaware Valley Regional’s boys basketball team was playing a game of catch-up all Saturday afternoon.
And the Terriers couldn’t complete the game before the final buzzer.
Second-seeded Delaware Valley conceded the opening basket and trailed the remainder of the way as third-seeded Hunterdon Central earned a 45-41 victory in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex semifinals at Wallkill Valley.
Hunterdon Central (15-7) advances to meet fifth-seeded Vernon, which upset top-seeded Phillipsburg, in the county final 5 p.m. Friday at Centenary University.
“I don’t think we came out matching their energy and intensity from the start,” Terriers coach Mike DePaolo said. “They jump out to an [8-3] lead, and you could just tell they were playing with a little more fire underneath them than us … Every point matters in games like this. We did battle. We dug in, got stops and made plays. But ultimately, Central made a just a few more winning plays than we did.”
The Terriers (16-7) refused to go quietly.
Hunterdon Central senior Matthew Schwartz drilled a midcourt 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to send his team into the fourth quarter with a 39-32 lead. Red Devils coach Tristen DeFazio was yelling, “No,” as Schwartz released the shot, because with 2 seconds on the clock, the senior had a chance to get closer to the basket. It didn’t matter.
“I was kind of in the moment,” Schwartz said. “… Sometimes miracles can happen, and I guess that’s what happened, I don’t know.”
Unfortunately, for the Red Devils, their 39-32 lead became a 38-32 advantage due to a discrepancy uncovered in the scorebook between quarters. The Terriers had Central with one fewer point in the third quarter, and since Del Val was providing the “official” book as the home team, the score was changed.
Del Val senior Haze Puttlitz tallied the first four points of the fourth quarter to trim Central’s margin to 38-36 with 7:16 on the clock.
“We had to grind it out,” DeFazio said. “All week we talked about how this game was going to be a bloodbath. They were going to come back. They’re a great basketball team.”
Schwartz scored a layup in transition and junior Cameron Diogene finished a strong drive to the basket to put the Red Devils ahead 42-36 with 3:09 left.
Del Val senior Francis Denvir swished a 3-pointer to make it a one-possession contest, 42-39, with 2:20 to play. The Terriers got the ball back after an offensive foul by Central, but Denvir was off the mark with a 3 and the rebound went out of bounds off Del Val.
Diogene made a pair of free throws to give Central breathing room. Terriers junior Eric Klemmer trimmed the deficit to 44-41 on a bucket with 12.8 seconds remaining, but that’s as close as it got.
Central got off to a fast start thanks to junior forward Weston Shirk, who scored 10 of the team’s first 18 points as the Red Devils opened an 18-11 lead.
“We go as he goes,” DeFazio said of Shirk. “We’ve said that all year. To quote the great Kelly Williams from TCNJ, there’s something about throwing it into your big man that just settles you down. When he gets us going early and he’s settling us down on the inside, everything else just opens up.”
Del Val adapted and limited Shirk to just two points in the second half.
“We weren’t in position to start. He was able to get position deep on us and flash to the ball,” DePaolo said. “When we went back to the board, just to show how he’s diving to the block and how they’re trying to run stuff for him, our guys made adjustments. Credit to them that they were able to get steals and limit his touches inside.”
Denvir, who entered averaging 18.9 points per game, paced the Terriers with 15 points. Puttlitz added 14.
Schwartz had a game-high 18 points for Central. Shirk finished with 12.
Saturday marked the Terriers’ first loss to Hunterdon County opposition this winter. Del Val had previously beaten Voorhees (twice), North Hunterdon (twice) and South Hunterdon (in the H/W/S quarterfinals).
The next chance for tournament success for Del Val is the Central Group 2 bracket.
“Last time we got here was 2019,” DePaolo said. “… We just talked about not letting opportunities like this slip away. As we turn our attention to states, we just have to remind ourselves of that. It’s a brand-new season, everyone is 0-0. We’ve got to take advantage of the opportunity there.”
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Kyle Craig may be reached at kcraig@lehighvalleylive.com.
Date Posted: Saturday, June 20th, 2026
The Delaware State Police Sex Offender Apprehension and Registration Unit (SOAR) is issuing the following public notifications of homeless and wanted sex offenders.
Wanted Sex Offenders
SOAR is currently looking for the following wanted sex offenders after they either failed to register or re-register at their current address. If anyone knows the location of these individuals, please call (302) 739-5882. Information may also be provided by contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) 847-3333. The individuals shown represent only a portion of the current wanted sex offenders. Please see the Delaware Sex Offender Registry website for the complete list.
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Homeless Sex Offenders
The following individuals are not wanted for failing to register or re-register at their current address. This is a homeless sex offender public notification. If you have information that the listed individuals are occupying a residence, please call (302) 739-5882. Information may also be provided by contacting Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) 847-3333. The individuals shown are those recently reported homeless and represent only a portion of the current homeless sex offenders. Please see the Delaware Sex Offender Registry website for the complete list.
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What is Delaware’s Kalmar Nyckel ship?
Here’s the history of Delaware’s Kalmar Nyckel ship explained in 36 seconds.
The Delaware history column features excerpts from The News Journal archives including The Morning News and The Evening Journal. See the archives at delawareonline.com.
100 years ago, The Evening Journal, June 21, 1926
Jealous man kills woman, wounds boy
Oliver K. Higgins, aged 33 years, of Washington Street, in a fit of jealousy late Saturday night, is alleged to have pumped seven bullets from an automatic revolver into Mrs. Edna M. Martin, 40 years old, of Spruce Street, killing her.
Charles Brown, the 15-year-old of Mrs. Gladys Brown, was shot in the jaw and shoulder by Higgins but will recover. Mrs. Brown, also of the Spruce Street address, is the sister of the slain woman. …
Mrs. Martin, who was employed by the Home Baking Company on Market Street, left the store at a late hour Saturday night, accompanied by Paul A. Crawford of Marshallton and went home. They found Mrs. Brown sitting in the dining room with Julius K. Bowman of Newport.
The women and men sat around the table for a short time. At 11:45 o’clock, hearing someone taking out a window screen in the parlor, Mrs. Brown went to the hall to see what caused the noise.
She saw Higgins step in the window with a gun in his hand. She opened the door and ran off the porch.
Higgins failed to see Mrs. Brown and continued to the dining room where Mrs. Martin and the two men were sitting. He leveled the revolver at their heads and said, “Stick your hands up everybody, and I don’t mean maybe.”
Higgins then asked for Mrs. Brown. Learning she had gone out the front door, he ran after her, passing her as she crouched behind a hedge a few feet from the doorway. He returned to the dining room, but the men had fled. He then turned to Mrs. Martin and fired as she ran. …
Leaving the dead woman at the head of the steps, Higgins rushed in the back room in search of Mrs. Brown. Charles Brown, who had been sleeping, awoke because of the noise. …
Hearing the boy going down the stairs, Higgins stepped to the stair rail and shot him twice. …
Mrs. Brown went to the drug store of Otto H. Miller at 22nd and Pine streets to telephone police. …
Officers surrounded the Brown house … and arrested Higgins. …
Higgins met Mrs. Brown several months ago when he was in the employ of the United Cigar Store, and Mrs. Brown was working nearby. He is said to have become jealous over the attention of other men to Mrs. Brown, who is divorced. She asked him to stop annoying her and appealed to police.
After Higgins threatened Mrs. Brown with a gun, she told her employer who called the United Cigar Company and made a complaint to the manager. Shortly after this, Higgins was discharged.
50 years ago, The Morning News, June 23, 1976
Bill would jail parents of delinquent kids
A tough measure that provides for jailing the parents of delinquent children or requiring them to spend weekends with delinquents at juvenile detention centers has been introduced in the Delaware Senate.
The bill is the brainchild of the community-based services staff of the juvenile corrections bureau.
“This gives a way to coax them (the parents),” said John J. Mulvena, juvenile corrections chief. “If not to coax them, to require them. If not require them, jail them.”
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Herman Holloway Sr., D-Wilmington.
Mulvena said it is “directed at parents who are reluctant to participate in the responsible supervision of their children.”
He said due to “stubbornness, ignorance or neglect,” his staff often ends up acting as “mother, father, aunt, uncle or surrogate” for children “while the parents get off scot-free.”
20 years ago, The News Journal, June 26, 2006
Storms wallop Sussex with 6-8 inches of rain
Jack English knew he was in trouble early Sunday morning.
He kept waking up to the sound of his Seaford basement sump pump trying to keep up with the downpour outside….
At first, he found a few inches of water on his basement floor. Then, all of a sudden, his backyard was completely flooded and the rising water blew out his basement window. …
“I was evacuated by the fire department,” he said. …
In six to eight hours, 7 inches fell in Bridgeville, more than 8 inches in Georgetown and nearly 6 inches in Laurel….
The Seaford Fire Company had its first sign of trouble at 7:30 a.m., when a crew responded to a person trapped in a car by rising water. As the morning went on, rescue crews turned to boats.
An estimated 300 people were evacuated from homes at three mobile home parks southeast of Blades.
Meanwhile, in Seaford, concern grew as water levels rose in the Nanticoke River and Williams Pond. As a precaution, 110 residents of Lifecare at Lofland Park rehabilitation center were evacuated to Nanticoke Memorial Hospital. …
At the Seaford Walmart, a team of swift water rescuers from Salisbury, Maryland helped people trapped in the parking lot, with water up to the top of some cars. …
Bridges at Craigs Mill Road and Woodland Road washed out. …
The American Red Cross opened a shelter at Woodbridge High School in Bridgeville. About 30 people were staying there Sunday night.
Reach reporter Ben Mace at rmace@gannett.com.
DELAWARE COUNTY, Ind. — All lanes closed on I-69 in the southbound direction in Delaware County on Friday morning.
Authorities with the Indiana State Police were dispatched to the 240.5 mile marker on a report of a crash involving a semi at approximately 8:08 a.m.
All lanes are now open.
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