Washington City Title Game: DeMatha Favored Over Roosevelt In Monday Final
For nine of the past 10 years, the private school champion of Washington has won the city championship in boys basketball. There’s no reason to bet against the trend Monday, when DeMatha plays Roosevelt at the Verizon Center.
DeMatha has won the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) championship for the third straight year and 34th time in history. Roosevelt won Washington’s public school league, called the D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association (DCIAA).
Washington’s city championship is a playoff of the WCAC and DCIAA champions, and DeMatha is the two-time defending champ.
DeMatha (24-7) has what might be called a typical team for a program that has graduated several NBA players, including Hall of Famer Adrian Dantley.
Mikael Hopkins, a 6-foot-9 post player, has committed to Georgetown. Juniors Jerami Grant, a 6-7 forward, and James Robinson, the point guard, have offers from Top 25 programs.
DeMatha has finished strong after a rough start that included a demoralizing 75-25 loss to St. Patrick of New Jersey, the team many consider the nation’s best. It knocked DeMatha out of national rankings, but the team has picked up the pieces.
“We got embarrassed that game, and we embarrassed ourselves,” DeMatha coach Mike Jones told The Gazette of Maryland. ‘‘But that loss and those criticisms just gave us a lot of motivation going forward. ... We won the WCAC tournament, and now we’re hoping to reach our next goal of winning the city title game.”
Roosevelt’s strength seems to be karma. In the DCIAA final against Eastern, Roosevelt’s Ezell Starks made a steal and lap in the final seconds of a 62-60 victory. In the semifinals, Antone James made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Springarn 71-69.
“I’ll take three in a row like this,” Roosevelt coach Rob Nickens told The Washington Post.
That’s probably what it will take Monday.
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