Boys Basketball: David Douglas Jr.’s triple-double, hot-shooting sophomores lead Yorkville Christian to regional win

YORKVILLE – David Douglas Jr. has put up monster numbers this season.

Yorkville Christian’s 6-foot-5 senior guard has scored the most points in the state according to MaxPreps, averaging 34.4 per game. He’s twice broken the school record for points in a game, most recently a 66-point effort. At times Douglas has seemed the Mustangs’ offense, giving pause whenever any teammate would put up a shot.

That is not the case any more.

The way sophomores Brady Sovern and Zach Marini are shooting it, Douglas is no longer a one-man show.

“I got a lot of confidence in those guys,” Douglas said. “They’ve been putting in a lot of work. I’ve been seeing them stay after practice and putting up shots. It’s a big difference from December to now. They have more confidence, they’re setting their feet, and when they do that they’re making them.”

It was apparent in Saturday’s playoff opener.

Douglas did his thing, scoring 30 points and had the third triple double in school history with 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Sovern and Marini, though, combined to hit nine of Yorkville Christian’s 15 3-pointers as the defending state champions pulled away to beat Fenger 75-48 in a Class 1A regional quarterfinal.

Sovern added 18 points on six 3-pointers and Marini chipped in 11 points for Yorkville Christian (10-21), which advanced to play Putnam County in a regional semifinal Wednesday at Dwight.

The two Mustangs’ sophomore guards have combined to hit 104 3-pointers on the season, at close to a 33% clip. Yorkville Christian is that much more dangerous when they’re hitting at the high rate they were Saturday. Sovern and Marini combined to shoot 9 for 14 against a Fenger team that at times threw two defenders at Douglas.

“It helps tremendously,” Yorkville Christian coach Aaron Sovern said. “When Brady and Zach are hitting shots it opens up so much more. It’s what we knew at the beginning of the year that we would have to gain experience because we didn’t have it with the exception of DJ.”

Sovern knocked down three of his six 3s for Yorkville’s first nine points, all from the left corner and two on kickouts from Douglas.

The coach’s son was on the sidelines last season as a manager during Yorkville Christian’s state championship run. He’s overcome a deep shooting slump this year to become an integral part of what the Mustangs hope is another extended postseason.

“Start of the season Zach and I both struggled because we were playing these big schools. I had a really bad slump around Christmas time and I thought ‘Shoot, I don’t know if I’ll ever shoot the ball well again,’” Sovern said. “I felt I had the yips. Broke out of that, been shooting it better, we’ve been getting extra looks and we’re just playing better as a team.”

Fenger (8-18), which dressed just six players, was within 39-30 at halftime on the strength of 6-foot-5 Jordan Rowls’ 20 first-half points. Rowls had his way in the paint throughout the first half, but was held to just two points and two shot attempts in the second half.

Douglas, meanwhile, took over after the break.

He scored Yorkville Christian’s first seven points out of halftime, and accounted for all 19 of his team’s third-quarter points by way of 14 points and five assists.

The highlight was a spectacular driving layup and scoop shot through contact for a three-point play and 54-37 lead.

But his teammates made Douglas’ job that much easier.

“You saw today, they were trying to throw two people at me, I was making the pass, we were making them pay,” Douglas said. “It’s really nice that we got everybody clicking and this is the time of year we need it. I just didn’t want to settle. If I can get to the basket and kick it to my teammates that’s what we want.”

The Mustangs’ next opponent is a Putnam County team that is no stranger.

Yorkville Christian beat Putnam County in last year’s sectional final, but Putnam County beat the Mustangs in overtime in December in a game in which Yorkville Christian led in the final seconds of regulation.

“It was a close game. If they win, we’ll definitely be looking forward to it,” Douglas said. “They got a nice team. Just got to focus on them, take it one step at a time.”