Douglass boys grind down Lexington Catholic to set up showdown with Great Crossing
Frederick Douglass coach Murray Garvin knew facing Lexington Catholic in the 11th Region Tournament semifinals wouldn’t be easy.
Though the Knights quickly fell out of Kentucky’s boys high school basketball rankings with a series of losses in December, Lexington Catholic cruised through its 43rd District schedule and knocked off No. 9 Danville Christian last month.
So while No. 3 Douglass could never really shake Lexington Catholic on Saturday, it also never let the Knights seize any momentum as it grudgingly held onto a 49-38 win at Paul Laurence Dunbar’s S.T. Roach Sports Center to advance to Tuesday’s region finals.
“I knew that (Knights) Coach (Brandon) Salsman was going to change the tempo of the game, and we had to fight to execute,” Garvin said. “It was grit and the toughness of our guys. We guarded them well. I feel like if you can hold a Lexington Catholic team to 38 points then defense was the difference.”
DeMarcus Surratt led the Broncos with 15 points and helped kick off a sequence that helped Douglass turn a 9-3 first quarter deficit into a 27-18 lead by the middle of the second quarter.
Surratt made both of his 3-pointers during a 17-4 Broncos’ run in the first half. The second one he followed with a steal and a layup. One possession later, Surratt pulled down a defensive rebound and fed Dakari Talbert in transition for another 3-pointer to put Douglass up 20-13. Douglass never trailed again.
“We pride ourselves on defense. We think that’s our biggest thing,” Surratt said. “If we play good defense, if we press the team and force them to turn it over, I think we can beat anybody.”
Lexington Catholic outscored Douglass 30-20 in the paint and got 14 and 11 points, respectively, from Max Meagher and Hank Woodall. But each time LexCath cut into Douglass’ lead, the Broncos answered.
The Knights closed to within 32-28 with 1:16 left in the third quarter only to see Tate Robinson hit one of his three 3-pointers a few moments later to give Douglass a 35-28 lead going into the fourth. Robinson finished with nine points. Aveion Chenault added eight points to go with three assists, two blocks and three steals for the Broncos.
“You can’t lose 21-3 on the 3-point line to them and expect to win. That was the big stat that we saw that stood out to us,” Salsman said. “They’re just very good defensively. We knew we were in for a battle, and tried to do the best we could, and our kids fought as hard as they could. I couldn’t be more proud of what they were able to accomplish this year.”
Lexington Catholic (23-10), typically one of the top-ranked teams in the state year-in and year-out, uncharacteristically lost eight of its first 15 games after graduating nine seniors last season. But Salsman’s young core of players quickly turned things around.
“I think the pundits had us ranked somewhere in the 12 range in the region, so to be in the final four in the toughest region in the state and have a chance to take on the No. 3 team speaks volumes to where this team started and where it finished,” Salsman said.
Next, Frederick Douglass (25-4) faces Great Crossing, who it lost to 78-70 back on Dec. 13. Then, the Warhawks had been an overwhelming preseason No. 1 before falling to Louisville powerhouse St. Xavier two days later.
In the final media poll of the regular season, Great Crossing ranked No. 2 just ahead of Douglass at No. 3.
“I believe Tuesday is the game that everybody expected — the No. 2 team versus the whatever-rank we are. It don’t matter,” Garvin said. “It’s the two finalists in the 11th region, and it should be a special, special ball game.”
Tuesday
Boys 11th Region Tournament championship
At Paul Laurence Dunbar High School’s S.T. Roach Sports Center
7 p.m.: Great Crossing (30-4) vs. Frederick Douglass (25-4)
Tickets: $10 via GoFan app
Streaming: Glicod.com
This story was originally published March 8, 2025 at 10:55 PM.
