‘Locked in’ Douglass routs Madison Central on the way to boys’ 11th Region finals
The last time Frederick Douglass played Madison Central, it got down 11 on its home floor while starting point guard Kai Simpson rested at home with an illness.
Douglass had Simpson back for Saturday’s rematch in the boys’ 11th Region Tournament semifinals at Eastern Kentucky University’s Baptist Health Arena. And this time, Douglass did not need a miracle buzzer-beater from Armelo Boone to win it late, like it did on Jan. 20.
Simpson scored 12 of his team-high 19 points in a decisive third quarter and No. 8 Douglass (30-2) defeated Madison Central 74-55 to secure the Broncos’ third consecutive trip to the region finals.
For Simpson, the game came down to one thing.
“Making shots — the whole team making shots,” said Simpson, who knocked down three three-pointers Saturday, the last of which beat the third-quarter horn and put Douglass up 20 going into the final frame after leading by nine at half. “We were just putting them in the right positions.”
Douglass got 18 points from Aveion Chenault, 17 points from Boone, 10 from Tylon Webb and eight from Logan Busson in a comprehensive offensive performance.
“Team ball. That’s what we preach. … Everybody gets moving,” Simpson said. “We have athleticism. … If we just play together, you look up and it’s 20, 20, 19.”
The Broncos shot 52.8 percent from the field and even better from beyond the three-point arc, making nine of 16 three-point attempts.
“We really don’t restrict anything that they do offensively, and that’s where they get a lot of their confidence from,” Douglass Coach Wes Scarberry said. “They don’t think about or worry about missing shots, because they have that freedom to do it. Today, fortunately they shot really well. They hadn’t played in here for a year, so I was kind of surprised, myself.”
But the Douglass defense played well, too. Despite letting Madison Central’s Jaylen Davis go for 17 first-half points, the Broncos led by nine at the break. Douglass held Davis to 10 points in the second half and limited his teammates Jayden West and Robby Todd to 14 and nine points, respectively. The Indians (19-15) shot only 37.3 percent from the field.
“We were really locked in, defensively. That’s been true all year long,” said Scarberry, who credits the defensive success in helping the offense. “Our defense really dictates how good our offense could be.”
Douglass, back in the region finals, lost to Madison Central in 2021 and district rival Henry Clay last season.
The Broncos will face No. 2 Lexington Catholic (32-2) in Monday’s 11th Region championship game at EKU. Lexington Catholic defeated Great Crossing 48-42 in Saturday’s other semifinal.
The Knights defeated the Broncos 71-59 on Nov. 30, the season opener for both teams. Many of Douglass’ key players, including Busson, Chenault and Webb, were still playing football for the Class 5A state champions back then.
The Broncos have some concerns because no player on their roster is taller than 6-foot-3 and LexCath has a pair of 6-foot-5 guards and 7-foot Miami of Ohio commit Reece Potter at center.
“Obviously, we’ll be at a size disadvantage because we are in most games, like today,” Scarberry said. “We just use our athleticism and the talent we have. We feel we can do well.”
Monday
Boys’ 11th Region Tournament championship
At Eastern Kentucky University’s Baptist Health Arena
7 p.m.: Lexington Catholic (32-2) vs. Frederick Douglass (30-2)
Tickets: Online purchase via GoFan.co or its app
Streaming: Pay per view at Go.PrepSpin.com
This story was originally published March 4, 2023 at 5:16 PM.
