It has been a magical season for the H.D. Woodson boy’s basketball team. The Warriors seek to become the first city public school team since 1985 to finish the season undefeated as they head into the D.C. State Athletic Association Championship.
H.D. Woodson (31-0) showed they’re determined to reach this goal of perfection in the DCSAA Semifinal game against Gonzaga on Mar. 3. After trailing by 12 points at halftime and down 73-65 late in the fourth quarter, Woodson managed to come back and beat the Purple Eagles 105-102 in double-overtime.
Sophomore guard/forward Kiyon Boyd finished with a season-high 37 points. Guard Derquan Washington scored 26 points and made a clutch three pointer to send the game into overtime. Gonzaga junior Chris Lykes poured in 31 points and Nigel Stewart had 25 points but it wasn’t enough for the win.
Besides staying undefeated, H.D. Woodson is the No. 1 team in the Washington Post Top 20 rankings. They won their second straight DICAA (D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association) Championship by beating Theodore Roosevelt 68-57 on Feb. 24.
Throughout the 2015-16 campaign, the Warriors have been led by senior Antwan Walker, and sophomores Kiyon Boyd and Dequan Washington. Antwan has seen his stock rise this season. He is averaging 16 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks per game. For three straight games, Walker tallied 20 or more points, 10 or more rebounds, and four or more blocks. On Feb. 9, Antwan had 11 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 blocks against McKinley. The senior forward holds offers from James Madison, Hofstra, Manhattan, DePaul, Towson, and Duquesne.
Kiyon Boyd is also having a solid season. Boyd is averaging 14.1 points and nine rebounds per game. He recorded 24 points and a season-high 24 rebounds against Thurgood Marshall on Dec. 11. Kiyon scored 26 points while collecting 13 rebounds against Eastern High School on Jan. 29. For a sophomore, Boyd has a good amount of scholarship offers from schools like Bowling Green, Hofstra, James Madison, and Towson.
Five foot eight guard Derquan Washington had put up some good numbers during the year. He’s averaging 14. 2 points per game. He scored a season-high 31 points against Anacostia. When H.D. Woodson played Thurgood Marshall, Washington had 25 points, 12 assist, and six rebounds.
In the DCSAA Championship on Sunday, Woodson will take on Friendship Collegiate. The Knights opened the tournament with a 77-70 victory over nationally ranked St. John’s College High School in the quarterfinals. The highlight of that game was the point guard matchup between Friendship’s Alani Moore and St. John’s Anthony Cowan. Moore outplayed Cowan, scoring 35 points. Six foot nine senior forward Keon Queen had 17 points and 18 rebounds in the win.
The following day, Friendship Collegiate went to the Verizon Center to play IDEA in the DCSAA Semifinals. In the first half, the Knights had a hard time getting into momentum. IDEA opened the game with a 19-9 advantage and had a 32-20 lead at halftime. In the fourth quarter, Friendship outscored IDEA 25-13 to come away with the win. Temple commit Alani Moore scored 24 points to lead all scorers.
H.D. Woodson is one win away from making history. The only thing standing in their way is a Friendship Collegiate that has shown they can compete and beat the best. It will be interesting to see how this game plays out on Sunday.
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ICYMI: Friendship Collegiate comes back to beat IDEA in the DCSAA Semifinals
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