‘We proved ourselves tonight.’ Douglass knocks off defending Boys’ Sweet 16 champion.
Frederick Douglass put its 18-game winning streak to the test Tuesday night against defending Boys’ Sweet 16 champion George Rogers Clark.
Sure, the Broncos, who are ranked No. 14 in the latest Dave Cantrall Ratings, had rolled through most of their 11th Region schedule, but how would they measure up against the visiting No. 2 Cardinals?
Douglass’s 63-52 win over Clark answered that question emphatically.
“Tonight was kind of a statement for us,” Douglass interim coach Wes Scarberry said. “A lot of people say we haven’t played a tough enough schedule and hadn’t beat anybody with a lot of winning records, but that really doesn’t have anything to do with how good you are.
“I think we proved ourselves tonight.”
Douglass outscored Clark 16-4 in the third quarter to take control of a game it had trailed in for much of the first half. The Broncos’ defense and athleticism sparked a number of fast-break opportunities, some of which were capped by dunks that thrilled the home crowd in this well-attended midweek tilt.
Aveion Chenault and Armelo Boone led Douglass (22-2) with 18 points each to go with 15 from senior point guard Kai Simpson.
“These boys can jump out the gym,” said Simpson, who fed an alley-oop to Chenault during the third quarter run. “The athleticism is crazy.”
Clark (18-5) had its own 11-game win streak going, which included a close win at home over No. 11 Great Crossing last month and huge blowouts over everyone else.
Cards Coach Josh Cook lamented his team’s shooting woes against Douglass but welcomed the opportunity to learn from the loss. Clark missed its first seven shots of the second half and committed two turnovers in almost seven scoreless minutes. Leading scorer Jerone Morton was limited to eight points on two made field goals. Sam Parrish and Trent Edwards scored 15 and 12 points, respectively. Reshaun Hampton had 11.
“Sometimes these things can be the best thing that ever happened to you,” Cook said. “We were doing the right things early and then we made a couple of live ball turnovers that led to transition. … There’s a lot to learn from. They’re a good team, man. Give them credit.”
Douglass’s only two losses of the season came back in early December against No. 4 Lexington Catholic and No. 11 Great Crossing. Both of those teams have 7-foot centers.
Though Douglass has no one taller than 6-foot-3, it has since shown it could deal with size inside against the likes of Clark’s 6-foot-8 Edwards and Madison Central’s 6-foot-7 Robby Todd thanks in large part to its athleticism and the under-the-radar defensive effort of Logan Busson, Scarberry said. That could come in handy later. The postseason is just two weeks away.
“The season’s not over,” Scarberry said. “That was big for us mentally to beat a team of that caliber. It’s a big thing for our program and where we’re heading, but we’ve got a big district game on Thursday. We’ll enjoy this one tonight and then get ready for Sayre.”
Before Tuesday, Douglass had not convinced everyone that it was one of the best teams in the state. The latest media rankings placed the Broncos just outside the top 10. Simpson knows no one will take his team lightly from here on out.
“I don’t see how they can, but if they do, we’re going to keep going,” he said. “We’re just going to keep going.”
This story was originally published February 8, 2023 at 12:08 AM.
