With Douglass's Mike Lewis, sometimes the moments that leave spectators in awe are the same ones that make his coach cringe. Even with his team staked to a double-digit lead in the final minutes against Forestville last night, there was Lewis, weaving through a herd of defenders and surveying the court for an open man under the basket.
"Michael, slow it down," Coach Lloyd Bryant shouted.
Douglass high school's Mike Lewis hits a three-pointer against Forestville. Lewis leads Douglass with 30 points.
(Joel Richardson - The Washington Post)
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_____By the Numbers_____
By the Numbers
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Points the Edison boys trailed by going into the fourth quarter against No. 11 Hayfield. The Eagles rallied, however, with junior guard Benjamin Stokes recovering a loose ball and sinking a three-pointer with four seconds left, giving Edison a 64-63 win.
22
Teams ranked in The Post's preseason boys' and girls' Top 20s that have lost so far this season. Eleven ranked girls' teams and 11 ranked boys' teams already have losses; six Top 20 teams lost last night.
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From the moment Lewis stepped on the court last night, that breakneck pace helped him to a near-flawless performance. The junior finished with a game-high 30 points to lead Douglass to a 90-79 victory over host Forestville in a Prince George's 3A/2A boys' basketball game.
"What you've got to understand is he's still young," Bryant said of Lewis. "He's in situations he's not used to in the past, like holding on to a lead in the fourth quarter and trying to manage the clock."
If he keeps playing like he did last night, Lewis may have to train himself for such situations. He opened the game by hitting six of his first seven three-point attempts as Douglass (3-0) grabbed a 39-26 halftime lead.
Lewis has proven to be the perfect fit for Bryant's frenetic, up-tempo style, and he combined with fellow junior Ronnie Barbour (17 points) to create havoc on offense. Though Lewis and Barbour stand 5 feet 8 and 5-9, respectively, they have relied on their quickness to keep defenses on their heels.
"A lot of people tend to underestimate them because of their size," said Bryant, the Eagles' first-year coach. "Guys think they can post them up, but they're so quick and they're deceptively strong, so it creates a lot of mismatches."
Behind sophomore forward DeVonte Campbell (24 points) and senior guard Jerrel Suber (25 points), Forestville (1-1) crept back into the game with a 17-9 run to open the third quarter. But the difference for Forestville came at the free throw line, where the Knights hit only 16 of 38 attempts.
"It seemed like every time we cut it to four or six we'd have a defensive breakdown," Forestville Coach O.J. Johnson said. "You can't give up 90 points in a game and expect to win it. On top of that, we just didn't make the free throws when we needed."
