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Redemption: Flagler, Lovelace lead NE Douglass past Wayne

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Lamar Lovelace (No. 13 for NE Douglass) scored a game-high 29 points in Wednesday’s victory. (PHOTO: MIKE GENTILE)

By JOHN LIKANJE

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Northeast College Preparatory High School, or NE Douglass for short, opened in September 2007. However, none of its 16 varsity sports teams have been able to bring home a sectional title. The boys’ basketball squad came close in 2018, falling 56-54 to Wayne in the sectional final.

Two years later, NE Douglass had a chance at redemption. Trudging into the postseason as the seventh seed and losing five of its last seven games, Kyle Crandall’s squad strung together a pair of wins over No. 10 Monroe and No. 2 Northstar Christian. Now, they had to overcome another major hurdle: beating a Wayne squad with a similar record to when these teams met in the sectional final. The 2018 Eagles had a 19-3 mark as the No. 2 seed. The 2020 Eagles came into Wednesday’s game with a 19-2 record as the No. 3 seed and winners of 36 of their last 43 games dating back to last season.

Wednesday night at Gates-Chili High School, the Panthers pulled out yet another improbable win, defeating Wayne, 71-68, to advance to their second sectional final in the last three years. The two sectional final appearances are the only ones in school history as well since the program started in 2011.

“This is more than just about our team,” Crandall said. “It’s really for the entire school and the entire school community. We have a goal that we’re going through.”

The senior duo of Adonis Flagler and Lamar Lovelace split 18 of the Panthers’ 25 fourth-quarter points. Flagler connected on a pair of jumpers, including a three-pointer on their first possession of the stanza, a layup and two foul shots. Lovelace made a three of his own along with two layups and two freebies.

“Throughout our sectional run, our coach has been calling our team a colony and we’ve been representing ants,” Flagler explained. “We yell ‘1, 2, 3, ants!’ on every break because everybody got a job in an ant colony. Some people score. Some people help to score. Some people rebound.”

“There’s no secrets that our offense really runs through the two of them,” Crandall acknowledged. “We have other guys who can score and who can step up and do that as well, of course. In big games, in pressure situations, when you need your leaders to step up, it’s obviously nice when they do that.”

The senior duo led an 11-2 run midway through the fourth quarter as the Panthers turned a one-point deficit into an eight-point lead. Lovelace made a layup followed by back-to-back buckets from Flagler. Lovelace finished inside yet again while Trynzeir Parker hit a foul shot and Nicolas Jeanty had a layup of his own to round out the scoring. In three minutes, the Panthers had a commanding 65-57 advantage. NE Douglass forced two missed field goals and four turnovers in seven possessions during the run as well.

Despite the game looking out of reach, Wayne put together a quick 7-0 rally. Trailing 67-59 with 1:17 left, the Eagles forced a turnover, leading to junior guard Tyler Reynolds knocking down a left-corner three-pointer. After getting a stop on the other end, Mason Blakenberg was fouled and split a pair of free throws. Then, the Eagles pressured the Panthers into another turnover, allowing Blakenberg to pull up for a mid-range jumper and make it 67-65.

The Eagles’ full court press forced a third turnover in the last four possessions and this time, Nathan McKenna was fouled and made 1-of-2 from the charity stripe.

But Flagler and Lovelace responded with four free throws in the final 32 seconds to keep Wayne at bay. Flagler’s foul shots came with 8.4 ticks left and put NE Douglass up three. Without any timeouts, the Eagles had to make something out of nothing. Reynolds took a potential game-tying shot from the right corner that clanged off the side of rim.

Lovelace scored 19 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, including 10 in the third quarter. Four of the senior guard’s 11 made field goals were from beyond the arc. Lovelace dished out four assists, swiped two steals and swatted a shot as well.

Flagler netted 16 points along with three assists, three steals and a block. Parker contributed 13 points, two assists and a steal. Jeanty chipped in 11 points and a pair of assists. Jason Jones (2) rounded out the scoring for NE Douglass, which forced 21 turnovers and 24 missed field goals in 75 possessions. The Panthers made 9-of-10 free throws in the fourth quarter as well.

“Every game comes down to defense,” Flagler said of the NE Douglass sectional run.

For Wayne, Blakenberg scored 15 of his 24 points in the first half, including nine in the second quarter. The sophomore guard made nine of his 10 shots from inside the arc and 3-of-4 free throw.

Reynolds knocked down three long-range shots as part of his 20-point performance. Devon Forrest chipped in 13 points. Elijah Schichtel (8) and McKenna (3) rounded out the scoring for Wayne.

NE Douglass will match up with fellow RCAC rival, East, which defeated Pittsford Sutherland, 61-55, in the other semifinal game.

“We’re gonna work on our game plan over the course of the next two days,” Crandall said. “Everyone will have a chance to see that on Saturday.”

Tip off is scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m. at the Blue Cross Arena.

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