In the team?s final timeout in overtime of the 1A state semifinal Friday afternoon, Dunbar?s seniors said they would not let their teammates down. They kept their word.
Senior guard Eric Barksdale scored eight points in the overtime period to lead the Poets to a 73-71 overtime win over a talented, relentless Fort Hill team. With the win, Dunbar (16-5) will face New Town (22-3) in the 1A championship today at 1 p.m. at University of Maryland?s Comcast Center.
Behind 23 points each from sophomore guard Stuart Clarke and senior guard Daniel DeSouse, New Town defeated Snow Hill, 62-55, in the other semifinal and will make its first state championship appearance in school history.
“Somebody?s going to make history tomorrow. Either Dunbar is going to win five straight, or we?re going to win our first,” said New Town coach Mike Smith, whose Titans? avenged a 2006 statesemifinal loss to Dunbar with an 80-77 win over the Poets this season. “It?s not going to be like last year, when we were awestruck.”
In the early semifinal Friday, Fort Hill (23-3) hung tough behind junior guard Jordan Brooks? 35 points. Brooks fouled-out with 37.8 seconds left in overtime.
“He was a real good player. I wanted to shut him down,” said Barksdale, who finished with 14 points and three steals ? including the game-clinching theft in the final minute of overtime that he translated into a three-point play. “If he?d have kept scoring, we would have lost.”
Brooks? effort only put pressure against the immovable force of Dunbar. And Dunbar thrives under pressure.
“There?s always pressure. Its welcome pressure,” first-year Dunbar coach Darnell Dantzler said. “We want to deal with that pressure at all times.”
Dunbar will play in its 14th state championship game, in search of its 12th title in 15 seasons.
“We?ve got Dunbar across our chests, so that means we never give up,” said senior forward Maurice Portee, who shot 4-of-8 from three-point range for a team-high 23 points.
This season, though, has been a difficult one for Dunbar. A rough start against a tough early-season schedule, plus the December firing of coach Eric Lee left the Poets with a tough mental hole to rebound from. Despite a rough finish, the Poets are already prepared to write the finish.
“Winning is what its going to finish like,” Portee said. “The season isn?t how you start, its how you finish, and we?re going to finish on top.”
SATURDAY AT STATES
» 1A: Dunbar vs. New Town, 1
» 2A: Randallstown/Wicomico vs. Frederick/Fairmont Heights, 6*
» 3A: River Hill vs. Bethesda-Chevy Chase, 3
» 4A: Sherwood vs. Magruder, 8
* The 2A semifinal games Friday ended too late to be included in this edition
