Madison Central gets monster game from Jake Feldhaus in 69-66 win over Douglass
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- Madison Central forward Jake Feldhaus dominated, posting 32 points and 21 rebounds.
- Douglass rallied in each half from double-digit deficits but never got a tie or a lead.
- No. 2 Madison Central improved to 20-1 with its only loss to No. 1 St. Xavier.
Frederick Douglass had four of its starters score in double figures and clawed its way into the game from double-digit deficits in each half, but the No. 8 Broncos had no answer for No. 2 Madison Central’s Jake Feldhaus in a 69-66 loss on the Indians’ home court on Friday.
Feldhaus, a 6-8 senior forward committed to Belmont, scored 32 points and grabbed 21 rebounds in the second contest between these two 11th Region favorites this season. Madison Central beat Douglass 72-61 in the third place game of the King of the Bluegrass in Louisville on Dec. 22.
If they meet again, it will be at Eastern Kentucky University’s Baptist Health Arena in a month’s time with their postseason lives and possibly the region title at stake. Jake Feldhaus likes their chances.
“I’m really confident. It’s just not me out there,” said Jake Feldhaus,” the nephew of Indians coach Allen Feldhaus Jr. and son of Kentucky “Unforgettable” Deron Feldhaus. “We know that if they take me away. We have any other guy at any other moment that can take over the game and knock down their free throws.”
Madison Central jumped to a 7-0 lead at the outset, had a 41-30 lead at half and never let Douglass get as much as a tie the whole game. Although Grayson Burton and Cam Steele each missed one of their two free throws in the last 34 seconds, Burton got another opportunity to keep Douglass at bay at the line and nailed both to set the final margin with 8.9 seconds left.
Douglass guard Jimmy Dick missed his hurried 3-pointer from the left wing, and Tate Robison could not get back to the arc with his offensive rebound before time ran out.
Douglass point guard Dakari Talbert scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, including three 3-pointers. Robinson nailed two 3-pointers down the stretch and finished with 16 points. DeMarcus Surratt and Nate Coen added 12 and 10 points for the Broncos, respectively.
Douglass got as close as 44-41 in the third quarter, but trailed 65-56 with 1:20 to go. The game tightened again after a technical foul on Madison Central’s Luke Asher set up a five-point trip for the Broncos. Robinson made both technical foul shots and then quickly got open for a 3-pointer to cut Madison Central’s lead to 65-61 with a minute left.
“All I could ask for is for our guys to compete,” said Douglass coach Murray Garvin, whose team blew a 12-point second half lead in an upset loss to Henry Clay on Tuesday. “Coming off the tough loss at Henry Clay, I was looking to see how we would step into this game. We had a possession there at the end to tie it. We showed great poise, made big shots down the stretch.”
Garvin said Jake Feldhaus and the 14 second-chance points Douglass gave up on 13 offensive rebounds proved to be the difference in the game. Madison Central got 16 points, including three first-half 3-pointers, from Burton, and nine points each from Will Richardson and Asher.
Madison Central coach Allen Feldhaus Jr. lamented the technical that let Douglass (10-6) back in the game, but he was pleased with his team’s defensive effort, especially on the Broncos’ Surratt, a Bellarmine commit. And he liked his nephew’s toughness.
“The more physical the game is, the more rugged he is and the more right up his alley it is,” Coach Feldhaus said. “He’s got a lot of his daddy in him, but he’s a lot more athletic than his daddy was. He’s a hard stop.”
Madison Central (20-1) has only lost to Kentucky Media Elite 16 boys basketball poll No. 1 St. Xavier this season. Coach Feldhaus confessed another loss in the final month before the postseason might help his team.
“There’s a lot of top five teams that have thrown a clunker in there and gotten beat. We haven’t done that yet,” Coach Feldhaus said. “The thing that has been so impressive to me — because I have six seniors and Grayson, (a sophomore) who’s played since he’s a seventh grader, so he’s like a senior — we have not had one single bad day in practice where I didn’t think the effort was there.”
The Indians’ remaining schedule includes trips to No. 16 Lexington Catholic on Feb. 9, and No. 9 North Laurel on Feb. 12, and a home game against No. 4 Covington Catholic to end the regular season on Feb. 20.
“I guarantee we’re probably going to get beat, but we’re not going to let it bother us,” Coach Feldhaus said. “I think we know what we’re capable of doing. But the 11th Region is going to be a dog fight. It always is.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2026 at 10:01 AM.
