By Todd Bradley, DCSportsFan.com
Special to MaxPreps.com
WASHINGTON – Theodore Roosevelt won the District of Columbia Interscholastic Athletic Association (DCIAA) basketball championship Saturday and will advance to the City Title game for the first time in 36 years. The Rough Riders defeated Dunbar, 50-41, for the third time this season; Delaunte Lewis was named Roosevelt’s Most Valuable Player. The senior led all scorers with 14 points.
“We have had games this year where Delaunte has been off, but he does the little things to help us win, whether it’s coming up with rebounds or steals,” Roosevelt second-year coach Rob Nickens said. “He’s been doing this all year so it’s not surprising.”
The victory was Roosevelt’s eighth in a row and 14th in its last 16 games, but it comes after a strenuous season in which the Rough Riders lost five straight games from December 18 through January 3. Roosevelt won 10 of 12 conference games and bounced back after a disappointing end to the 2006-07 season.
“We lost in the first round last year, but we came back and worked hard,” Nickens said. “It’s an outstanding feeling.”
Roosevelt outscored Dunbar, 16-8, in the first quarter, but the Crimson Tide came back to make it a two-point game heading into the second half. After a back-and-fourth third quarter, the Rough Riders went to their big men. Darin Drakeford had an authoritative two-handed slam and D'Angelo Johnson scored three times down low as Roosevelt outscored Dunbar by 14-6 in the fourth quarter.
“D’Angelo is the best post player on our team and everyone knows that,” Nickens said. “And the two-handed dunk (by Darin) was just fantastic.”
Dunbar was led by Dartanion Lesane and James Austin, who both scored 10 points for the Crimson Tide. Lesane was named Dunbar’s Most Valuable Player just two days after hitting the game-winning shot against Coolidge. He also had eight rebounds, five blocks and two assists Saturday.
In the end, though, it was Roosevelt’s bench and free throw shooting that proved to be the different. The Rough Riders shot 78 percent from the charity stripe compared to Dunbar’s 31 percent. Roosevelt’s bench also outscored Dunbar’s, 20-8.
The Rough Riders will meet Gonzaga High School in the City Title game March 4th at the Verizon Center.
Todd Bradley is the Editor-in-Chief of www.dcsportsfan.com, which covers high school athletics in the Washington, D.C. area. E-mail Todd at editor@dcsportsfan.com.