FORESTVILLE, MD-The last time DeMatha (Md.) played Bishop McNamara (Md.) was last year and they ended up losing 69-65. Last nights game was a completely different story as the Stags cruised past the Mustangs 86-59 behind big performances by Nate Darling, DJ Harvey, and Markelle Fultz.
“Last year we wasn’t to focus. We were trying to impress the crowd,” senior guard Markelle Fultz said. “This year we were playing for each other, and going after loose balls.” The Washington signee scored 20 points in the victory.
DeMatha’s Nate Darling played extremely well. The UAB commit had 19 points and knocked down four three pointers. There were also times when he would drive to the basket and go for the lay-up or dunk. “Nate is an unbelievable shooter,” Fultz said. “First half he wasn’t getting anything open. Second Half, we came out and I tried to give him the ball more.”
Markelle wasn’t the only one impressed by Nate’s performance. DeMatha head coach Mike Jones thought Darling was really impressive. “Nate did very well,” coach Jones said. “He is a complete basketball player that can shoot the ball and made plays driving to the basket.”
DeMatha junior DJ Harvey was another player that had a big game. Harvey finished with 20 points and was aggressive at getting rebounds on both sides of the floor. “DJ is already a top 20 player. You can even make a argument that he is one of the top players in his class,” coach Jones said. “Everyone knows he can score and that he is an athlete. But he is rebounding better than any non center we had in a very long time.”
Bishop McNamara keep the game close early as the trailed 16-11 at the end of the first quarter. But as the game went on the Mustangs wasn’t looking too good on defense and allowed DeMatha to get wide open shots especially from behind the arc. Turnovers also hurt McNamara. They were making bad passes which led to them throwing the ball out of bounds or a DeMatha steal.
Mustangs guard Jamir Moultrie carried the way for them. Moultrie finished the game with 23 points and he was hitting the three ball. Senior Jamar Watson had 10 points and 5 rebounds while guard Ernest Jenkins had 7 points. With 2:16 left in the first quarter, Jamar Watson scored his 1,000 career point by knocking down a free throw.
Last night’s game was a sellout. The gym was packed with fans from both schools. “This shows how much the WCAC means to the area,” guard Nate Darling said. “It was a big game and a big crowd. We love to feed off of the crowd.”
DeMatha holds a 7-0 record going into the holiday. After that, they will head off to Oregon to compete in the Les Schwab Tires Invitational. Bishop McNamara however, is 5-3 and will play in the Slam Dunk to the Beach in Delaware.
Ryan McFadden is a freshman at Iona College and alumni from DeMatha Catholic High School. He is the founder of Inside The Locker Room and sports writer for the Ionian. Follow him on Twitter @RMcFadden15.
Follow Inside The Locker Room on Twitter @lockerroom2015
Inside The Locker Room 