DeMatha Downs Nation's No. 1 Team

Even for a basketball program with as lofty a tradition as DeMatha’s, beating the No. 1 team in the nation is cause for celebration. And when one of your budding stars shows signs of reaching his enormous potential, the happiness factor rises.

On Saturday Dec. 7, the Stags ran away with a 77-61 victory over William Brennan High, then the nation’s top-ranked team.

The game, part of the DeMatha-hosted National High School Hoops Festival, was tied until late in the third quarter when the Stags (4-1) went on a 14-0 run that included a trifecta of 3-pointers. When the final ball stopped bouncing, the Bears were heading back to San Antonio with an 11-2 record.

“We had a good feel of how they like to play,” DeMatha coach Mike G. Jones said. “So, we just tried to disrupt them and take away what they do well and make them really work.

“We normally like to speed up, but I just said, ‘look, we’ve got to defend at a high level,’ and I think we did that today.”

Junior Ace Meeks scored 22 points, followed by seniors Charles Thomas (16), Kade Sebastian (13) and Cole Bowser (12). Thomas was 7 of 8 from the field to pace the Stags’ 54 percent effort.

Jones said Thomas, a senior power forward, had a “breakout” game: “We’ve been trying to get him two feet in the paint [and] dunk. He’s our most athletic player. Now that he sees that he can do that in a game, I think he’s about to take off.”

Thomas, who’s averaging 9.4 points and is tied with Bowser for the team lead in blocks (8), agrees with his coach.

“I feel like it was a breakout game,” he said. “Once I started playing with pace and playing aggressively, the game opened up for me. I was getting several lobs, finishing at the rim and getting a lot of and-1s.”

Brennan guard Kingston Flemings, a University of Houston signee, led all scorers with 25 points on 10 of 15 shooting and added eight rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Tied at 42 with 1:17 to go in the third period, Meeks sandwiched a pair of treys around a Thomas layup, a Sebastian 3 and a traditional three-point play by Caden Walton.

Flemings, who Jones coached two years in a row with USA Basketball, scored the next four points to pull the Bears to within 10. It was the closest they would get.

“We had three or four stops in a row multiple times,” Jones said. “So, we were able to gain an advantage and pull away.”

Meeks was 7 of 16 from the field and 4 of 11 from long distance. He tallied seven of DeMatha’s final 11 points in a game it led by just one at halftime.

“We knew that this game was going to come down to toughness, who could execute and who could be more poised, more patient and more disciplined,” said Meeks, who was named game MVP. “So, we came out [in the second half] and executed, and that got us the win.”

DeMatha 53, Highland 50 – The Stags followed their Saturday win with a three-point victory over Highland School of Warrenton, Va., which was on game day ranked 40th nationally.

After allowing a 13-point lead evaporate into a 48-47 deficit with 2:02 to play, Walton drove hard to the basket for a slam dunk and added a 3-pointer from the right wing. He also corralled two defensive rebounds in the final 13 seconds to preserve the victory.

Sebastian scored a team-high 15 points, and Meeks added 12. Sophomore Daniel Abass produced six points and eight rebounds. Walton finished with seven points and five boards.

Highland’s Nate Ament, who has offers from blue bloods such as North Carolina, UConn, Duke, Kentucky and Tennessee, totaled 19 points and 10 rebounds.

The 6-foot-9 five-star senior wing didn’t, however, dominate like he did in a summer league victory over the Stags. He made just 5 of 13 shots and committed four turnovers.

In his postgame address in the locker room, Jones expressed how proud he was of his team’s effort.

“We’re starting to become a really, really good team because everyone is playing for each other,” he said. “The energy when Caden got that dunk, I can’t wait to see the film … That’s the sign of a really good team.”

Rankings / Next Up – DeMatha is ranked 7th by The Washington Post and 17th nationally by MaxPreps. The Stags (4-1) travel to Wilmington, Del., to battle Howard High of Wilmington on Friday at 8 p.m. and Eagle Academy of Brooklyn, N.Y., on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

The Big 5-0 – DeMatha’s 75-60 victory over WCAC rival Carroll on Tuesday was Jones' 50th as Stags head coach. Jones is in his third year in Hyattsville and has guided DeMatha to two season-ending tournament championships.

College Commitments – During the early signing period, Sebastian signed with American and Bowser with Furman.

Sebastian scored a season-high 20 points in DeMatha’s triumph over Carroll. Bowser had a double-double with 19 points and 10 boards.

Chris McManes is DeMatha Catholic High School’s communications manager.