Bethesda-Chevy Chase High senior Austin Cooley wanted to accomplish two goals during Sunday’s Capital Classic — have fun and lead his Suburban All-Star squad to a victory.
With 16 points scored on a variety of awe-inspiring dunks and a four-point play in 23 minutes of action, the 6-foot-4 Cooley accomplished one of those goals, while the other one came up just short as the Suburban All-Stars dropped a 131-128 decision to the District All-Stars at the University of Maryland’s Comcast Center in the preliminary game to the 35th annual Capital Classic.
Cooley was one of seven Montgomery County players to play in the preliminary contest — the others being Dennis Bassich (Einstein), Neal Kosculiek (Quince Orchard), Garvey Young (Georgetown Prep), Jordan Clarke (Good Counsel) and Silver Spring native David Diakite (National Christian Academy in Fort Washington). Springbrook and Bullis coaches Tom Crowell and Bruce Kelley guided the Suburban and District teams, respectively.
‘‘I just wanted to have fun and still win at the same time and then showcase my talent,” said Cooley, who made 7 of 17 field goals and pulled down six rebounds as one of the Suburban starters. ‘‘I think I got that done.”
Indeed he did. After missing his first shot of the game and his first dunk attempt, Cooley, who has a vertical jump of 38 inches, threw down two breakaway dunks and followed with a pair of resounding alley-oop slams on the break and in traffic. Then with the Suburban All-stars closing the gap in the late stages of the contest, Cooley pulled up for a 3-pointer, drew his man in the air, swished the field goal and was fouled. He then converted the free throw, his only attempt of the game, to cut the District lead to 123-121 with 1 minute, 35 seconds left in the contest.
‘‘I know I’m blessed with athletic ability so I try to take advantage of it when I can,” said Cooley, who has received a scholarship offer from Loyola (Md.) and recent interest from Penn State and Niagara.
Vermont’s future looks bright
If there were any University of Vermont fans attending the preliminary game, they had to walk away with large grins pasted to their faces after watching the performances had by Clarke and Young, a pair of long-time friends who will head to the New England university next fall.
The two first-team All-Gazette honorees combined for 38 points and 16 rebounds for the winning District squad. Clarke, a starter, torched defenders for 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, including 2 of 4 from behind the 3-point arc. He also made all four of his free throws and pulled down eight rebounds.
‘‘We talked before this that we were going to represent for Vermont when we got out here. We tried to do that,” said Clarke, who produced 18.6 points and 10.9 rebounds a game for the resurgent Falcons (21-8) this past winter. ‘‘[Vermont] coach [Mike] Lonergan told us when we go out, we need to show what Vermont basketball is all about.”
Young, who scored 1,925 points during his Georgetown Prep career, poured in 13 of his 18 points in the second half and ripped down eight rebounds, five on the offensive end. He connected on 8 of 14 field goals, including a 3-pointer, and could have challenged for team-high honors if not for a 1-for-6 performance from the free-throw line.
‘‘I let the game come to me because a lot of people were excited,” Young said. ‘‘I didn’t want to rush it and take too many rushed shots and make unnecessary plays. In the second half, I got a couple of offensive rebounds and I stepped up my defense and got some easy points. That’s how I got my momentum and I was able to play the way I play. I was comfortable.”
The pair did not play on the court together throughout the contest.
Diakite trying to attract suitors
Former Avalon School two-sport star Diakite, who played basketball at National Christian the past two seasons, came into Sunday’s all-star game looking to drum up some more interest in his game from college coaches. He’s already received attention from George Washington, Rhode Island, Loyola and West Virginia.
Any such suitors in attendance had to be at least somewhat impressed as the 6-foot-5, 210-pound Diakite, who was a two-way football player at Avalon, muscled his way to 18 points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes of play off the bench. Most of his six field goals came on two-handed power slams on the break. He also knocked down 6 of 8 free throws, blocked a pair of shots and converted a couple of steals.
‘‘I was trying to have fun out here,” Diakite said. ‘‘Put on a show for the crowd.”
Playing against a competitive schedule, Diakite contributed 17.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, four assists and 2.3 steals a game for National Christian.
Bassich, Kosculiek represent well
Suburban All-Stars Bassich and Kosculiek also capped their high school careers on strong notes. Bassich, who torched opponents for 26.4 points per game this past season, scored nine points and grabbed a trio of rebounds in 11 minutes while Kosculiek added seven points and five rebounds in 10 minutes of action.
Petkovich, a member of the District All-Stars, missed the game because of recent knee surgery. He helped guide the Bulldogs to the Interstate Athletic Conference title with averages of 14.7 points, eight rebounds, 4.2 assists and three steals. He will attend Lafayette College next year.
