Remember this date: Jan. 11. That’s when the Wise Pumas came of age.
Trailing perennial power Eleanor Roosevelt by six points midway through the fourth quarter, Wise had just blown a 12-point lead. The Pumas had seen this movie before, surrendering late leads in wrenching losses to Oxon Hill, Fairmont Heights and Bladensburg.
And why not? Wise is a first-year school with no senior class. No one expects much this season.
But getting close wasn’t good enough on Jan. 11. With 5-foot-8 freshman point guard Daryl Traynham driving relentlessly and 6-10 junior Roscoe Davis defending the rim, Wise rallied for an improbable 81-74 overtime victory against the defending region champions.
“It happened to us before. We lost two games by one point and two games by four,” said Traynham after scoring seven of his 22 points in the final five minutes of regulation. “I just told myself, ‘We can’t lose this game.’”
Davis had the same resolve, blocking five shots in the final eight minutes and scoring five points in overtime.
“People are looking at us like we could be good down the road,” said Davis. “We know we can win now. If we can beat ER, we can beat anybody in the county.”
Tonight when Wise (8-5) travels to No. 6 Flowers (11-1), Traynham and Davis will go against another talented duo — 5-3 Jordan Brooks and 6-8 Charles Thompson.
The mercurial Traynham, who averages 16.0 points per game, and the easy-going Davis, who averages 16.9, are an odd pair 14 inches apart, but as talented as any point guard-center duo in Prince George’s County.
“Daryl’s a warrior,” said Wise coach O.J. Johnson. “You see a guy that size and you don’t expect him to go to the hole like he does, especially as a freshman.”
With his size and mobility, Davis has been compared to Texas star Kevin Durant. Johnson believes Davis has the skills to play small forward in college, but needs more aggression.
“Roscoe hasn’t reached his true potential,” said Johnson. “He’s very unselfish, which we like to see. But he needs to become more assertive. He’s just starting to learn what he can do.”
Pumas pounce
» Traynham and Davis are also linked as players for D.C. Assault, one of the nation’s top AAU programs.
» Wise starting guard David Golladay is the brother of former Maryland state sprint champion Michalyn Golladay.
» ER assistant Glenn Farello compares Traynham to former Raiders star Ray Brewer.
