By By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
Once he finally got on the court, Daquan Daniels was dazzling.
The Washington Pam Pack senior erupted for a career-high 37 points Tuesday night, including 12 in a pivotal fourth quarter, in a 59-44 victory over D.H. Conley in the Coastal Conference opener for both teams. Though he scorched the nets from inside and out, which included six 3-pointers, Daniels said the key came at the other end.
The varsity boys didn’t hit the court until nearly 9 p.m. The junior varsity game went into overtime and the varsity girls game lasted two overtimes. D.H. Conley won both.
Daniels came out smoking as soon as he stepped on the court, hitting a pair of triples and a floater along the wing to give the Pack (5-0, 1-0) an early 8-0 lead. He finished with 10 points in the first quarter, while adding 11 in the third and four in the second.
Akeem Daniels kept the Vikings (5-1, 0-1) close early, scoring his team’s first seven points. However, the Pack defense buckled down and held him to four more points the rest of the way.
Jaron Lane paced Conley with 13 points.
The Vikings were able to erase the early 8-0 deficit and actually took a 27-21 lead late in the second.
Jonathan Setters hit a jumper to give the Vikings a 33-31 advantage early in the third, but it would prove to be their last lead. Daquan Daniels hit consecutive layups and then a 3-pointer to cap a 9-0 run that gave Washington a 40-33 lead.
The Vikings rallied again, eventually tying the game at 40-40 on a pair of free throws by Lane.
Daquan Daniels came through again for Washington, burying a trifecta for a 43-40 edge with 4:39 to play in the game. The Pack wouldn’t trail again.
Godley hit a pair of free throws and Daquan Daniels nailed a jumper to push the lead to seven.
A slam and a layup by Cor-J Cox, who finished with eight points, and a free throw by Dakuan Spencer capped the scoring as the 15-point margin at the buzzer was Washington’s largest lead of the game.
The Pack is back home Friday as it plays host to South Central.
Girls lose heartbreaker
D.H. Conley scored the final nine points in the second overtime to give the Vikings a 72-64 win.
Washington (3-4, 0-1) had taken a 64-63 lead with 1:23 remaining on a three-point play by Beth Batchelor, but Kirsten Burt’s layup, her only basket of the game, gave the Vikings the lead for good.
The marathon-game, which saw seven players foul out, a boys’ ball used for the first 1:01 of the game (Washington’s Hayley Stowe scored four points before the switch was made to the regulation girls’ ball) and a scoreboard malfunction was the second extra session of the day.
D.H. Conley posted a 71-69 win in overtime in the junior varsity boys game. Washington (4-1, 0-1) held the lead late in the game, but the Vikings hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to force the extra session.
Harmony Simpkins paced Washington with 18 points in the varsity girls game. Sam Smith had 16 points and 16 rebounds before fouling out, while Stowe added 12 points before she fouled out. Davey Ann Burbage tacked on seven points and 20 rebounds.
Brittany Wilkins had 18 to lead Conley, while Tyler Knight added 17 and Kendra Spruill 12.
A Simpkins layup in the first overtime gave Washington a 61-54 lead, but the Vikings were able to force another extra session by scoring the next seven points.
D.H. Conley 11 18 8 7 — 44
Washington 12 8 12 19 — 59
D.H. CONLEY (44)
Jaron Lane 13, Akeem Daniels 11, Setters 9, Leavy 4, Anderson 2, Evans 2, Quinn 2, Lewis 1, Mullarski, Abdullah.
WASHINGTON (59)
Daquan Daniels 37, Cox 8, Griffin 4, Godley 4, Rouse 2, Cogdell 2, Mallison 1, Spencer 1.
Girls
D.H. Conley 12 13 11 17 8 11 — 72
Washington 16 4 21 12 8 3 — 64
D.H. CONLEY (72)
Brittany Wilkins 18, Tyler Knight 17, Kendral Spruill 12, Andrews 7, Harvey 6, Brown 6, Wilkins 3, Burt 2, Haithcock 1.
WASHINGTON (64)
Harmony Simpkins 18, Sam Smith 16, Hayley Stowe 12, Burbage 7, Batchelor 6, Grice 4, Weatherington 1, Palmer, Cox, Litzey.