Coolidge’s Khalen Cumberlander digs deep against Wilson basketball

After an eight-point outburst in the first quarter, not much came out of Coolidge guard Khalen Cumberlander for the next two quarters. All the Colts’ leading scorer managed offensively for the next 16 minutes was a layup. Foul trouble and fatigue, since the Colts were playing their third game in four nights, slowed him down.

But facing a seven-point deficit in a key D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association West game against host Wilson on Tuesday night, Coolidge Coach Vaughn Jones pulled his standout senior guard aside and told him to attack the basket. Jones’s words sparked a 10-point fourth quarter from Cumberlander, whose Colts snuck past Wilson, 70-68, for a win.

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The night before, the Colts notched a strong victory over Phoebus, in which Cumberlander played nearly the whole game and scored 19 points. On Saturday, he also helped lead the Colts to a victory against rival Theodore Roosevelt . And on Tuesday night, Cumberlander’s lack of energy was apparent to Jones.

“I think him making a couple of shots early I could see helped him but I could see he was tired,” Jones said. “I know him and I’ve been coaching him for a while and I knew he was a little fatigued. But he sucked it up and made shots when we needed it.”

On the first play of the final quarter, Cumberlander (20 points) took the ball right to the basket for a layup and a foul. On the next play, he drew a foul and made both free throws. He was a player on a mission.

Cumberlander, a Central Connecticut recruit, gave Coolidge (15-4, 5-0) the lead, 59-58, with 5 minutes 35 seconds left when he stole the ball, drove down the court and dunked. Under the basket, the normally calm senior pumped his arms and screamed.

“I was just energetic at that point and I really wanted to win,” he said.

Added junior guard Omar Roberts: “I like that. It gets the whole team motivated. I like it when he gets hyped. It helps us play together.”

Led by senior Marcus Coates (21 points), Wilson proved a feisty competitor. The Tigers (13-6, 3-2) took a 10-point third quarter lead before Coolidge clawed back. Wilson cut its deficit to a point, 69-68, when Coates made a layup with 12.9 seconds left to play.

But after miscues by both teams, Cumberlander pulled down a rebound on a Wilson three-point attempt and was fouled. He hit one of two free throws to keep Coolidge ahead, and headed to a win.