The characters and the dates may have changed over the years, but the matchup between the two schools remains as intense as ever.
Theodore Roosevelt and Calvin Coolidge High Schools met on the basketball court in another one of those key D.C. high school battles. When it was all said and done, the Roosevelt Rough Riders managed to hold off their Northwest D.C. rivals, 72-71 in a thrilling District of Columbia Interscholastic Athletic Association (DCIAA) game at Coolidge.
One could feel the energy early as students and fans gathered in anticipation of seeing another entertaining competition between the two rivals.
It was a back-and-forth battle from start to finish with many ebbs and flows in between. First Roosevelt (11-4, 5-1 in the DCIAA) jumped out to the early 18-9 lead. But the Coolidge Colts settled in and responded to cut the deficit to 18-15 at the end of the quarter.
With senior guard Jawaun Carter and freshman Jamall “Deuce” Price Jr. of Roosevelt leading the way, the Rough Riders managed a 34-28 halftime lead.
Coolidge (10-5, 4-1 in the DCIAA) rode the efforts of talented junior guard Quinton Cooper and sophomore Eric Turner, who took turns victimizing the undersized Rough Riders with an array of strong moves to the basket.
Then, the Colts closed out the third quarter with a 10-0 run over the last 3:14 to take what appeared to be a comfortable 61-51 advantage at the end of three periods of play.
The Rough Riders is a very young and inexperienced team and it showed as they consistently turned the ball over (25 for the game) and missed numerous free throw attempts (16 of 28).
With Cooper continuing his assault on the Roosevelt defense, the Colts were able to increase its lead to 66-53 lead — the biggest of the game — into the fourth quarter with 5:51 remaining.
Then the game quickly changed. Turner (12 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists) suffered an injury that forced him out of the rest of the game. Adding to their woes, freshman Jabril Harvey (eight points, 14 rebounds) fouled out which allowed the Rough Riders to capitalize by putting together a 15-2 run over a three-minute span to take the lead at 69-68. It was Carter who finished the play, giving him 16 points for the game. Freshman Gabriel Hudgens added a basket to make it 71-68 with 20 seconds remaining.
But before the Rough Riders could celebrate and the fans could head for the exits, Cooper hit a long bomb from three-point range — his first of the game — to knot the score at 71 with just nine seconds remaining.
Carter was fouled on the Rough Riders ensuing possession and hit on one of two with 6.3 seconds remaining.
Coolidge called a timeout and designed a play, but the team was unsuccessful, as Roosevelt escaped with a hard-fought victory in another DCIAA “battle royale.”
“With so many young players who have never played in this kind of hostile environment, we faced a lot of adversity,” said Roosevelt head coach Rob Nickens, who has over 400 victories in 28-plus years as a head coach. “We turned the ball over too much and missed too many free throws, but somehow they found a way to come away with a win.”
Price, who led his team with 19 points, said: “Coach Rob told us to keep fighting when we’re down and not to panic. It was a hard game but we came out with the W and that’s what matters.”
Coach Derrick “Derky” Washington was philosophical following the loss.
“We are 15 games in, and we have played in several playoff-type environments,” said Washington, in his fifth season leading his alma mater. “When we lost Eric and Jibril, it definitely affected us since we depend so much on them. But the good thing is that some of the players who came in for them realize they have to be ready. Since we are so young, it can’t do anything but help as we move forward the rest of the season and in the future.
With the restructuring of the DCIAA over the years, and players opting to leave for other schools and conferences, some argue the interscholastic association— which was once one of the best in the country— has lost some of its swag. Nickens, however, begs to differ.
“When you look at the crowd and the atmosphere here tonight, it lets you know that this league has some pretty good teams who play good basketball. I especially love it because it helps the confidence of the young players on both teams… when they play these kinds of games in this environment.”
It was the first league loss for the Colts.
Roosevelt also has a league loss to an improved Cardozo team, which is undefeated in league play.
Both teams have to play the defending champions and strong favorite, the Jackson-Reed Tigers, later in the season.
The teams could also see each other later in the season. Stay tuned.
