No. 3 St. John’s powers past No. 6 Paul VI, 80-64

Cadets use teamwork and ball movement to move past No. 6 Panthers.

Caption

  Tre Wood looks to pass in the first half. The St. John's Cadets beat the Paul VI Panthers 80-64. Katherine Frey/The Washington Post

1. DeMatha (6-0) Last ranked: 1

Reigning WCAC player of the year Markelle Fultz and the Stags are off to another hot start with wins over preseason Top 20 teams Eleanor Roosevelt and Wise.

2. St. John’s (6-0) LR: 3

Maryland signee Anthony Cowan Jr. is averaging 24.8 points to lead the Cadets to an unbeaten start that included wins against then-No. 6 Paul VI and No. 11 O’Connell.

3. National Christian (4-0) LR: 9

All-Met Christian Matthews had 25 points and Kabir Mohammed added 22 as the Eagles upset nationally-ranked API Prep at the National High School Hoops Festival.

4. Gonzaga (5-1) LR: 4

The Eagles won their first five games by double digits before falling to nationally ranked Roman Catholic (Pa.) in Sunday’s D.C. Classic final despite 34 points from Chris Lykes.

5. H.D. Woodson (7-0) LR: 13

New addition Derquan Washington averaged more than 22 points over three games as the Warriors won the Bishop Walker Invitational championship.

[2015-16 High school boys’ basketball preview]

6. Douglass (3-0) LR: 8

Senior Cameron Hayes finished with 23 points when the Eagles started league play with a 60-46 win over Crossland on Friday.

7. Episcopal (7-0) LR: NR

Building off last season’s IAC championship win, the Maroon rolled to the Sleepy Thompson Tournament title behind the play of senior guard Nick Reed.

8. Paul VI (4-2) LR: 6

After falling to then-No. 3 St. John’s and national power API Prep at the buzzer, the Panthers bounced back with a win against Monsignor Scanlan behind V.J. King’s 24 points.

9. Potomac (Va.) (4-0) LR: 18

Jamal Washington dropped 57 points in a two-day span against Hylton and Woodbridge before the Panthers emptied the bench in an 80-48 blowout over Gar-Field on Friday.

10. Wise (1-1) LR: 5

After starting the season with an impressive win over the Miller School, the Pumas fell to No. 1 DeMatha, 66-53, on Saturday in the National High School Hoops Festival.

12. McNamara (4-2) LR: 14

The Mustangs faced a tough early schedule that included four preseason Top 20 teams, falling to Maret and O’Connell but beating Bullis, Riverdale Baptist and Eleanor Roosevelt.

13. Bullis (4-1) LR: 12

The host Bulldogs swept the competition at their own Holiday Classic over the weekend as Vado Morse dropped 30 points in a championship win against Spalding.

14. St. Stephen’s/St. Agnes (4-1) LR: 19

Denmark Slay has led a concerted effort by the Saints, who have pulled out several close wins during their current three-game win streak.

15. Riverdale Baptist (7-3) LR: 11

The Crusaders have been well-balanced so far, with six different players who have already finished a game this season as the team’s leading scorer.

16. Lake Braddock (4-0) LR: NR

James Butler is averaging 21.3 points per game during the Bruins’ unbeaten start to the season, including 28 in a win over defending Virginia 6A North region champ Westfield.

17. West Springfield (4-0) LR: NR

In his first full season with the Spartans, Lewis Djonkam has asserted himself early, scoring at least 14 points in all four of the Spartans’ victories.

18. Oakland Mills (4-0) LR: NR

Senior guard Tre Hopkins has scored at least 19 points in three of the Scorpions’ first four games to start the season, including 20 win a win over defending state champ Centennial.

19. Meade (2-1) LR: 7

Tristan Easton exploded for 29 points in a win against Glen Burnie to help the Mustangs bounce back from a loss to Glenelg County.

20. Gwynn Park (2-0) LR: NR

Guard Justin Faison had a team-high 18 points when the Yellow Jackets beat North Point, 67-66, in an early-season test Friday night.

The game was over until it wasn’t.

Everything in Brandywine indicated Gwynn Park boys’ basketball team had beaten North Point. Yellow Jackets junior Justin Faison had slashed to the hoop to sink the winning the basket, answering the Eagles’ first tie of Friday night. The clock read 0:00 when Gwynn Park left the bench and mobbed Faison. An already heated crowd inside an overflowing gym took that cue to storm the court.

The truth was two whistles away, and a bipartisan crowd in a border battle between the hosts from Prince George’s County and the visitors from Charles County had to sweat out another 1.9 seconds of basketball in a 67-66 win for Gwynn Park.

The game had not finished when Faison’s bucket went in because an official had called a shooting foul on a North Point defender. Faison had not attempted his free throw before officials called a technical foul on the Gwynn Park fans for rushing the floor.

Fans were urged back into the bleachers, players returned to the hardwood and, in a critical moment for the Yellow Jackets (2-0), Faison converted his free throw to give him a team-high 18 points.

Junior Jalen Gibbs scored the last of his 20 points at the stripe, converting both free throws to bring the Eagles (2-1) within a point with possession for the inbounds pass.

But Yellow Jackets senior Kollin Mitchell, who scored all 13 of his points in the first half, figured the Eagles would try a lob with so little time remaining. Mitchell backpedaled and skied to intercept the pass, ending the game for the second time in two seconds.

“I was hyped with the crowd. The crowd running on the court and the clock saying 0:00? I thought the game was over, time to go home,” Mitchell said. “We put too much heart and hard work into practice to lose that game.”

A tight contest could not have been predicted during a first half in which Gwynn Park led by 19. The Yellow Jackets began the game on a 12-0 run punctuated by Faison, who was pounding his chest and holstering both hands at his waist after hitting his first three.

After Faison drove through contact at the game’s first finish, he thought he had reached a milestone.

“I did think it was over. I thought it was my first game-winner,” he said. “But then they put more time on it. I just had to hit the free throw and make sure we got the ‘W.’ ”

North Point senior Malik Brown (18 points) cut the lead to 10 just before the halftime buzzer, and the Eagles came back to outscore Gwynn Park in every quarter but the first.

The Eagles started the third quarter on a 6-0 run and cut the lead to two but couldn’t force a tie until Gibbs hit a reverse layup with 23 seconds left.

“Our coach got on us a little bit in the locker room. We just had to come out with fire,” Gibbs said. “I feel like we had a good shot at the end, but the ball just didn’t go our way.”

On the final play, senior forward Isaiah Miles (12 points, 14 rebounds) threaded a pass through two defenders to find Faison and, ultimately, decide the first meeting between the two schools.

“It’s a very unusual ending, electric atmosphere, an unbelievable rivalry — I think something that has to continue,” Gwynn Park Coach Mike Glick said. “Fortunately, the game was not decided on the call.”

Isiah Boggs, center, will be the go-to guy for Largo, which hopes to keep pace with Douglass atop the Prince George’s 3A/2A/1A standings. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

Top teams

Douglass (20-5), Gwynn Park (10-13), Crossland (19-5)

Top players

G Isaiah Boggs, Largo, 6-1, Sr.

G Kelvin Sellman, Crossland, 6-2, Sr.

F Cameron Hayes, Douglass, 6-5, Sr.

F Isiah Miles, Gwynn Park, 6-4, Sr.

Skinny: Douglass has several key pieces back from a team that won 20 games and lost in overtime to eventual state champion Oakland Mills in last year’s 2A South region final. Hayes averaged 17 points per game in 2014-15, emerging as one of the county’s best low post threats. The Eagles’ size will be a strength, with 6-foot-5 senior Dalton Smith and 6-foot-7 junior Zion Cousins also inside and 6-foot-3 guard Donald Carey providing length on the perimeter. . . .

Gwynn Park is poised to make a leap from a below-.500 record in 2014-15 to top contender this season. The Yellow Jackets return six of their top seven players from last year’s rotation, including four starters. Miles nearly averaged a double-double last winter (14.5 points, 9.5 rebounds) and should be a force inside playing alongside forward Aaron Parker, an Eastern Michigan football recruit, and guard Marlon White. . . .

Potomac (Md.) has no starters back, and watched star Randall Brodie move on to Memphis. But the Wolverines should have a bit more stability following a tumultuous 2014-15 campaign that saw several players transfer mid-season. Guards Ryle Burley and Gary Robertson will be much improved after receiving extensive playing time earlier than expected because of last year’s attrition. . . . Crossland had a breakthrough season under Coach John Perry last year, and Sellman returns after emerging as a top weapon in 2014-15. The Cavaliers plan to play four point guards at the same time this year, a dynamic that could make them one of the most exciting teams in the area. . . .

Largo won’t be as imposing without All-Met Player of the Year Abdulai Bundu, but the Lions shouldn’t fall too far with Boggs, one of the best finishers at the rim in the entire area, returning. . . . Fairmont Heights is starting fresh under new Coach Chuck Henry, a former Cesar Chavez assistant who also coaches for D.C. Premier during the offseason. The Hornets have just one starter back, but the hope is senior point guard Kevin Smith is on the cusp of a breakout year that will help set the foundation for seasons to come. . . .

Surrattsville has three starters back in the fold, led by senior guards Nathaniel Christian and Robert Middleton. The Hornets could move up the standings this year with the county race more wide open than last season. . . . Oxon Hill moves down to the 3A classification this season after years competing in the Prince George’s 4A division.