DCSAA basketball champions crowned on Sunday
By Brooks Warren/The Sports Pulse Contributing Writer
WASHINGTON – The District of Columbia State Athletic Association (DCSAA) basketball championships concluded on Sunday at the Charles E. Smith Center on the campus of George Washington University.
Eight teams fought for a championship title, but only four could call themselves champions at the end of the day.
Those four champions were Gonzaga College High School and Kipp DC Charter School on the boys’ side. St. John’s College High School and Anacostia High School represented the girl’s sides as champions.
The Purple Eagles won by the score of 55-49 over the Tigers in a hostile environment. The game stopped momentarily to keep fans from fighting in the stands, and even beer was thrown toward the Gonzaga bench!
Michigan University commit Terrance Williams registered 19 points and 14 rebounds, concluding to a double-double performance. Guard Devin Dinkins scored 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers and guard Chuck Harris followed up with 12 points and seven assists.
“I think we just turned it up in the fourth quarter really,” Williams said, “Really all I can say, I think throughout the game we weren’t playing our hardest, but in the fourth quarter coach told us, ‘seniors we gotta end it on a high note, so that’s when we turned up.’”
The Tigers were led by Miasiah Brown, Nasir Best, and Jay Young III, who all scored 11 points apiece. Wilson gave Gonzaga some issues in the second quarter when they switched to a 3-2 matchup zone, a defensive look that, according to Harris, was not seen often by Gonzaga. The defensive change gave Gonzaga some fits early on and led to an eight-point Tigers lead.
“Once we got it down, we were able to score pretty easily,” Harris said.
However, Gonzaga responded promptly after a timeout and went on a 10-3 run by the end the first half down just by only one point.
From there, Gonzaga threw a counter punch and held Wilson to only four points, while scoring 13 points of their own. Best made it a five-point game late in the second half after a physical layup, but Harris immediately responded with a 3-pointer of his own, and Wilson could never close the gap.
“We always talk about coming out the first four minutes of the second half with the opportunity to knock somebody out,” Gonzaga head coach Steve Turner said. “Tonight, I think we did a good job of extending that lead. So I think it was about nine points, and from there, we stayed up front, capitalized, and made plays when we needed too.”
Kipp DC won a 65-32 decision over Model Secondary School of the Deaf. Four double-digit scorers led the Panthers. Guard Saveon Jackson led all scorers with 18 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists followed up by guard DeQuan Williams who accounted for 17 points, six rebounds and four steals.
Guard Rasheed Dupree scored 14 points, dished out five assists, and tallied four steals, followed by 10 points from guard Charles McClain.
Jeremiah Deans led the Eagles with nine points, six rebounds and four steals. The Panthers won the boys Class A championship after outscoring the Eagles, 47-21 after the first quarter.
The first game between Anacostia High School and Ballou High School ended in a dominant 59-35 Indians win.
Guard Kamryn Anthony led the Indians with 22 points, five rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Chataeah Frederick contributed 13 points and four steals. Ballou wing Tajha Jackson had a game-high 25 points and pulled down 16 rebounds. The Indians ran away with the contest during the second quarter when they outscored the Knights 21-5.
The second girls game featured St. John’s College High School and Sidwell Friends School. The result was a 54-44 Cadets win. Wing Azzi Fudd led all scorers by stuffing the stat sheet with 17 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Forward Taylor Napper dominated the paint to the tune of 16 points and cleaned the glass with 11 rebounds. Wing Kelis Corley followed up with 10 points to round out three double-digit scorers.
Three double-digit scorers led the Quakers. Point guard Kiki Rice led Sidwell with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while wing Jadyn Donovan scored 12 points and corralled 12 rebounds, with off-guard Khia Miller ending the contest with 10 points.
