Boys Basketball: David Douglas Jr.’s 38 points, clutch free throws carry Yorkville Christian past Sandwich in Classic opener

PLANO – David Douglas Jr. crashed to the court on more than one occasion Tuesday after absorbing contact, and at one point the Yorkville Christian senior guard required extra time to treat a cut on his elbow. There was plenty of give and take in a physical, at times chippy game with Sandwich.

Douglas’ concentration at the free-throw line, though, never wavered.

“I just try to take my time and focus,” Douglas said. “I try not to rush it too much. I take a deep breath. That’s how I calm myself down because sometimes I get fouled hard.”

Douglas indeed kept his cool in a red-hot finish in Plano. He scored 38 points and was a perfect 18-for-18 from the free throw line. Six of those free throws came in the final minute and change, including the go-ahead shots with 43.8 seconds left.

Yorkville Christian overcame a blown double-digit third-quarter lead for a 54-51 win over Sandwich in the first round of the 59th Plano Christmas Classic.

Douglas, averaging 32.2 points per game coming in while shooting 87% at the line, scored 22 points in the first half to lead the Mustangs (3-11) to a 33-24 halftime lead. Then he scored 13 in the fourth quarter, with a spectacular block of an Owen Sheley layup attempt preceding his go-ahead free throws.

“D.J. got us going early and took us home,” Yorkville Christian coach Aaron Sovern said. “He’s been amazing for us all year.”

Douglas, who also had 15 rebounds and shot 8-for-23 from the floor, already matched Yorkville Christian’s single-game scoring record with 51 points this season, and he could take aim at two Classic scoring records this week. The single game scoring record is 45 and tournament record is 134.

He was cooking early, making three of the Mustangs’ five 3-pointers in the first quarter that saw them jump out to a 20-12 lead on Sandwich.

“Douglas is a heck of a player,” Sandwich coach Kevin Kozan said. “We’ve guarded [Burlington Central’s] Drew Scharnowski, but he’s a different type of player. That was our first taste at a guard who can do something like that. We struggled at the beginning but I thought Dom [Rome] and Austin [Marks] did well.”

Sandwich (8-5), like it did at La Salle-Peru and against Plano the last two weeks, nearly clawed all the way back to victory on the strength of its defense.

The Indians held Yorkville Christian scoreless for a seven-minute stretch in the third quarter, closing to within 35-32 with 2:53 left on an Evan Gottlieb 3-pointer that capped an 8-0 run. Sandwich took its first lead since early in the first quarter at 49-47 with 2:00 left in the fourth quarter on two Sheley free throws – but the line was not the Indians’ friend.

Sandwich made just 6-of-15 free throws, preventing the Indians from winning a Classic first-round game for the first time since 2018. Dylan Young scored 13 points and Gottlieb, Sheley and Marks added 10 each for Sandwich.

“We had a chance,” Kozan said. “Douglas got to the line a ton which doesn’t help us but I was proud of the guys. I thought they played hard. We’ll see if we can win a consolation bracket.”

Douglas knew to anticipate that Sandwich would not go away quietly Tuesday, even with Yorkville Christian jumping out early. Yorkville Christian beat Sandwich by 52 in last year’s Classic opener, but this is a much different Indians’ team that hangs its hat on physical, hard-nosed defense. It kept Douglas scoreless in the third quarter until his deep 3-pointer beat the shot clock in the final minute.

“Very physical game,” Douglas said. “We played Sandwich last year and we knew they played hard. We led by 10 but I told our guys we had to keep going because I knew Sandwich wouldn’t stop fighting.”

Jalen Aalders added eight points and eight rebounds and Trey Lombardo had seven points and seven rebounds for Yorkville Christian, which advanced to face Kaneland.

It’s been a grind for a young Mustangs’ team in the early going this season. They had a late lead slip away last week in an overtime loss to Putnam County, which made this win a good one to bank – however they did it.

“They’re not sending this one to the art museum in Chicago, they’re not sending this to the Smithsonian – but it’s a win,” Sovern said. “It was a rock fight which we knew it would be. Sandwich plays hard. It’s a growing experience for our guys. We needed that win badly.”