Disappointment at Dougherty: Trojans fall 78-73 in Elite Eight

ALBANY – Disappointed at Dougherty. The Dougherty Trojan basketball season came to an end Wednesday night with a 78-73 loss to Frederick Douglass High School of Atlanta.

The Astros opened the game hot and jumped on the Trojans early. The Astros drilled a three-pointer to start the game. A full-court press was giving the Trojans trouble and before two minutes had ticked off the clock, Douglass was up 11-2 and Dougherty head coach Bakari Bryant called time to try and get his group going.

Things didn’t change right away, but they did change. The Astros pushed out to a 21-6 lead when Bryant called time again with 3:38 remaining in the quarter. This time Dougherty began to click.

The Trojans began to outrun the press and the shot began to fall. Jacob Stallworth drilled a three. Then he stole the ball and laid in two points. Juwuan Jinks drove into the lane for two. Markelle Jones hit a turnaround jumper. Maurice Davis hit a couple of free throws and Kaleke Singletary-Jinks ran past a defender and laid up two points. All of a sudden the score was 24-23, Douglass still ahead.

Stallworth swished another three in the second quarter to give Dougherty a 32-30 lead. The two teams battled back and forth but Dougherty held a 47-42 lead at the half.

After a three-point play by Davis, the Trojans were up by 10, 60-50 before Douglass went on a 10-2 run to close the gap to just 62-60. Still, the teams went back and forth with Dougherty staying slightly ahead until a late three-pointer pushed Douglass ahead 72-71, Dougherty would get just one more basket after that and Douglass pulled out the win.

The loss ends Dougherty’s season in the Elite Eight for the third year in a row. The Trojans finished with a 17-12 record and a region 1-AAA championship.

Joe WhitfieldJoeWhitfield[email protected]