‘Someone was going to hit a big shot.’ Sophomore slings Frederick Douglass to region title.
Frederick Douglass sophomore guard Armelo Boone’s shooting form is not one for the textbooks.
He appears to pull it from his hip. His left arm crosses behind his right as he lets go. And his feet seem to flair the wrong way as he jumps.
Never mind that.
Boone’s picture perfect three-pointer from the right wing with 13.3 seconds left in the game Monday night helped lift Frederick Douglass to a 43-41 comeback win over Lexington Catholic and the team’s first 11th Region Tournament championship on its third consecutive trip to the finals at Eastern Kentucky University’s Baptist Health Arena.
“It felt great, because in the first half I didn’t make any threes,” said Boone, who was 2-for-2 from behind the arc in the second half after missing two attempts in the first.
Boone admits his form is unusual, and he’s not sure how he knocked the game-winner down, but … “I know it felt good,” he said.
Boone is the younger brother of former Bryan Station standout Eric “Boss” Boone Jr. Their father, Eric “Boss” Boone Sr., was killed last May in a homicide.
“For Melo to make that, it’s a testament to him,” Douglass Coach Wes Scarberry said. “His dad was probably looking down from above and helping that one go in. It couldn’t happen to a better kid.”
Scarberry doesn’t mind Boone’s unusual form, especially now.
“Obviously he was a great player before I got here, and I didn’t try to change it because it’s always consistent,” Scarberry said. “Man, that was just such a great performance … to be able to do that in that situation as a sophomore is incredible.”
Lexington Catholic had time left to tie the game or take the lead, but the ball slipped away as Broncos defenders swarmed in the closing seconds. A tie-up after a mad scramble to the floor gave Douglass the ball on the alternate possession with one second left. A fling to half court started the celebration in front of a crowd of more than 1,600.
Boone finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and a highlight-reel first-half dunk to earn tournament most valuable player honors. Kai Simpson and Aveion Chenault added 14 and nine points, respectively, for the Broncos.
“It just shows you the heart and the character of these kids,” Scarberry said. “This is the third year in a row they’ve been at this point and just to this point. … Tonight, they just kind of let it all out.”
The Broncos trailed by as many as eight points in the third quarter before rallying with a 13-2 run capped by Boone’s first three-pointer for a 34-31 lead with 6:08 left in the game. It was Douglass’s first lead since the first quarter. Simpson scored seven points in that run.
“We started off slow. It was mainly my fault, the leader’s fault, because we were pulling bad shots,” Simpson said. “My teammates picked me up big time and told me to go to the basket. That’s what I did. (LexCath) started doubling down (on me), and that’s when I passed it out to the shooters.”
Lexington Catholic would take the lead back twice over the closing minutes and led 41-40 after Tyler Doyle’s layup with 2:48 left. Simpson missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity a minute later to give LexCath the ball back with the one-point lead.
Douglass needed to make something happen on defense to set up Boone’s heroics.
As Doyle maneuvered around a Reece Potter screen near half court, Douglass forward Logan Busson shuffled into Doyle’s path and drew an offensive foul with 1:05 left.
“When they set that screen, we were going to trap it. … I got the charge, and it felt great,” Busson said. “I knew once we got the ball back someone was going to hit a big shot.”
Lexington Catholic (32-3) got a game-high 19 points to go with eight rebounds and three blocks from 7-foot center Reece Potter. Potter had eight of those points as the Knights stretched their advantage in the third quarter. Six other LexCath players scored, but none reached double figures.
“It’s sports. It’s what makes it great and what makes it bad,” Lexington Catholic Coach Brandon Salsman said. “That was just a slugfest. We did what we wanted to do defensively. … Things just didn’t go our way down the stretch, and Armelo made a great shot.”
Ranked No. 8 in the state in the final media poll of the season, the Broncos started the year with a 71-59 loss to No. 2 Lexington Catholic on Nov. 30 while many of its players were still lining up for Douglass’s Class 5A football state champions. Less than two week’s later, Douglass lost to No. 7 Great Crossing, another region foe, by 18 points, 78-60.
Douglass (31-2) has not lost since and takes a 28-game win streak into Rupp Arena for next week’s UK Healthcare Boys’ Sweet 16.
The Broncos’ girls’ team also won their region title on Saturday and will play in the Mingua Beef Jerky Girls’ Sweet 16 at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
All-tournament team
Douglass: Armelo Boone (MVP), Kai Simpson, Tylon Webb, Aveion Chenault; Lexington Catholic: Reece Potter; Tyler Doyle, Hudson Sparks; Madison Central: Jaylen Davis, Jayden West; Great Crossing: Vince Dawson III, Malachi Moreno; Madison Southern: Jay Rose; Scott County: Micah Glenn; Lexington Christian: Tyler Hall; Western Hills: Elijah Thompson.
Next game
Boys’ Sweet 16 at Rupp Arena
Thursday, March 16: Frederick Douglass (31-2) vs. Martin County (24-10), 6 p.m.
This story was originally published March 7, 2023 at 7:54 AM.
