Basketball Recap: DC International Takes Down Ranked Digital Pioneers Academy

On Friday, DC International faced Digital Pioneers Academy in a battle between two of the state's top teams. The DC International Dragons walked away with a 53-42 victory over the Digital Pioneers Academy Pythons. The win was familiar territory for the Dragons who have now won three matches in a row.

Kai Hegwood

Assists (Career)

01/31/25 @ Digital Pioneers Academy	5
01/30/25 @ Washington Latin Public Charter School	4
01/09/25 @ Washington Leadership Academy	2
01/08/25 @ KIPP DC Legacy College Prep	2
12/10/24 @ Capital City Public Charter School	2

DC International's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kai Hegwood, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and ten rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Hegwood a new career-high in assists (five). Gavin Moore was another key player, going 5 for 8 en route to 15 points in addition to seven boards and five assists.

DC International was working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Digital Pioneers Academy only posted seven assists.

Despite the loss, Digital Pioneers Academy saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Imran Buttt went 5 of 7 on his way to 14 points and seven rebounds. Buttt is also on a roll when it comes to shooting accuracy, as he's posted one of at least 45% in the last four games he's played. Another player making a difference was Kenneth Borders, who posted seven points.

DC International pushed their record up to 13-13 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. As for Digital Pioneers Academy, their defeat was their first in the league, dropping their league record down to 12-1 and their overall record down to 14-7.

DC International didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 2-0 victory against Woodson on the 3rd. As for Digital Pioneers Academy, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 59-50 win against Washington Latin Public Charter School on the 4th.