Dover boys basketball upsets Exeter to reach D1 championship game (video)

DURHAM – If Wednesday night's Division I semifinal was to come down to a final possession, Matt Fennessy hoped his Dover High School boys basketball team would be the one with the chance to win on a final shot.

While the game came down to the final few moments, it was Dover's defense that stepped up to the task.

The Green Wave came up with a couple of stops in the final two minutes, and Devin Cady scored the go-ahead basket with 31 seconds to play as No. 11 Dover continued its surprise tournament run with a 68-66 win over No. 2 Exeter at the University of New Hampshire. The win puts the Green Wave in the title game for the first time since 2005, where they will face No. 1 Portsmouth on Saturday.

Cady scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half and had seven rebounds while Tyler Vitko led Dover (11-10) with 25 points and John Cantwell added five points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and four assists.

After struggling to slow Exeter (15-5) in the first half, Dover's defense stepped up in the second half, holding the Blue Hawks to 7 of 30 from the field, including 0 of 8 from behind the 3-point line.

"We’re not the greatest defensive team, but when we needed to, we got stops," Fennessy said. "If we could get it into a halfcourt game, we felt like we would be OK. We would make enough plays. I had hoped that it comes down to a one-possession game and we have the ball. We didn’t have the ball, but we had a good idea of who was going to take the shots for them."

Cantwell came up with two defensive rebounds and a block of Exeter's Cody Morissette in the final two minutes, and also made one of two free throws with 9.5 seconds left to make it a two-point game.

Morissette finished with 18 points, 12 of which came in the first half, and Josh Morissette, his younger brother, added 13 points while Kevin Henry came off the bench to score 14.

The Blue Hawks appeared to take a nine-point lead into halftime, as the Lundholm Gym scoreboard read 38-29 in favor of Exeter. The live stat tracker provided by UNH had Exeter with 37 points, but during the break, officials at the scorers' table confirmed that the official book had Exeter with 36 points.

When play resumed for the second half, the Blue Hawks lead was seven points, and Dover erased that with a 13-2 run that made it 42-38 with 5:30 left in the third. Ryan Coleman had six of his nine points during the run.

"I brought them in before the start of the third quarter and said it’s the first time in history we’ve won halftime," Fennessy said. "They laughed. The big thing for us was the start of the third quarter. Ryan Coleman was awesome. He just attacked."

Exeter responded by going on a 15-5 run of its own, including a 9-0 run to end the third up 53-47. But Cady hit a 3-pointer to open up the fourth, and after a basket by Vitko, the senior scored on a putback to give Dover a 54-53 lead.

In all, the Green Wave started the fourth with a 14-4 run to take a 61-57 lead, but Exeter answered by scoring the next seven points to go back in front 64-61.

"We were going back and forth the whole game," Vitko said. "When coach calls timeout and you sit on the bench, look up and see there’s five minutes left, you’re playing for the championship game, you get a little boost of energy.

"Our players made plays, we got back in and made some stops. It’s tough but this team has been through a lot."

Cody Morissette gave Exeter a 66-63 lead on a layup with 2:09 remaining, but that would be the last points for the Blue Hawks. Cady answered with a jumper at the other end to get Dover within one, and after the first of a could of stops, Cady broke free on his way to the basket to give the Green Wave a 67-66 lead with 31 seconds left.

After the teams traded turnovers, Morissette drove to the basket again, but this time, Cantwell was there to block the ball out of bounds. Morissette got another chance, but the shot was off the mark and Cantwell grabbed the rebound and was fouled.

"John will do whatever we need him to do in a game," Fennessy said. "If it’s scoring presenting itself, he can score. If it’s passing, it’s a strong part of his game. He wanted it. Some of those rebounds he got late in the game, he really skied."

Cantwell made the second of the two free throws - the only of Dover's 20 fourth-quarter points not scored by Cady or Vitko - and Josh Morissette's 3-point attempt with two seconds left was no good.

"It’s incredible," Vitko said. "I remember coming here and watching games as a kid. It’s been a dream of mine and now we’re making that dream a possibility."