OAKWOOD -- Nothing came easy for Oakwood, which is normally the case for Douglass opponents. Even Oakwood star and Baylor commit Damiyne Durham struggled at times.

But Durham and the top-ranked Panthers got stronger as Friday night's District 25-A Division II showdown with No. 7 Douglass wore on, which culminated in a 48-34 Oakwood victory.

The win gives the Panthers (16-2, 4-0), who lost to Douglass in the regional championship game a season ago after splitting their district meetings, a leg up in the 25-A championship race, having defeated both No. 3 Laneville (87-84 in overtime on Dec. 20) and Douglass the first go-round.

Oakwood's Damiyne Durham brings the ball downcourt in the Panthers' 48-34 home win over Douglass on Friday night. (Christopher Vinn, ETSN.fm)
Oakwood's Damiyne Durham brings the ball downcourt in the Panthers' 48-34 home win over Douglass on Friday night. (Christopher Vinn, ETSN.fm)
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"Right now, we're in the catbird seat," said Oakwood coach Ronnie Dunn. "But we still have to go to Laneville, which is a very hard place to play. And we have to go to Douglass. We protected our home court, which is big. Now we've just got to go on the road and take care of business."

Durham, a 6-4 guard who choose Baylor over the likes of Kansas State, Marquette, Memphis, Michigan, Missouri, Texas and Texas A&M, finished with a team-high 24 points and 10 rebounds. Missing was his normally potent 3-point accuracy, as Durham didn't connect on his lone 3-pointer until late in the fourth quarter.

"I think it was just one of those nights," Dunn said of Durham. "We've played teams that were face-guarding him, box-and-one'ing him and we even played teams that triangled him too, and he still ended up with 30 points. Tonight he was just off, and that's very rare. Last year I think there was one game where he was off, and this year hopefully this is the only one he's off."

Jacquez Anderson, who scored the Panthers' first nine points of the game, added 19 points and 10 rebounds for Oakwood.

Oakwood's Jacquez Anderson works against Douglass' Matthew Wallace during their game Friday night in Oakwood. (Christopher Vinn, ETSN.fm)
Oakwood's Jacquez Anderson works against Douglass' Matthew Wallace during their game Friday night in Oakwood. (Christopher Vinn, ETSN.fm)
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"(Durham) didn't shoot the ball well, but luckily Jacquez Anderson stepped up and had a great game offensively," Dunn said. "Everybody played well defensively; I think it was one of our better defensive games. Douglass stalled the ball, but still … holding somebody to 34 points is pretty big defensively."

Durham, after being held to only eight points in the first half that ended in a 20-20 tie, came alive down the stretch by scoring 16 second-half points, including 12 in the fourth.

"Damiyne can take over a basketball game at will," Dunn said. "Tonight he made some big buckets late and stepped up to the free-throw line and made big buckets. (Anderson) kept us close and helped us get in the lead, but in the end Damiyne was the one that stepped up and made shots to kinda keep us with the lead."

Douglass coach Dayna Westbrook, whose team dropped a 44-34 decision to Laneville on Tuesday, praised her kids' defensive effort against Durham and Co.

Oakwood's Damiyne Durham heads for the basket as Douglass' Peyton Burton defends during their game Friday night in Oakwood. (Christopher Vinn, ETSN.fm)
Oakwood's Damiyne Durham heads for the basket as Douglass' Peyton Burton defends during their game Friday night in Oakwood. (Christopher Vinn, ETSN.fm)
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"(Durham) still got to the hole and got some transition buckets, but he's very, very good," Westbrook said. "You have to account for him, and he's unselfish, which is what makes him so good. I thought the kid that guarded him did a pretty good job. He's going to score points, but I was pleased with the effort tonight in that regard."

Bryce Westbrook led Douglass with 20 points, 15 rebounds and three assists.

The first half was played at Douglass' pace as the Indians employed a stall tactic on offense. An 8-0 run gave Oakwood a 12-7 first-quarter lead, before Bryce Westbrook drilled the second of his three 3-pointers on the night to cut the deficit to two points after one quarter.

Bryce Westbrook's 3-point shot with 11 seconds remaining in the half tied the game at 20-20.

"We know we can't run with them and so we wanted to try and limit their possessions on offense," Coach Westbrook said. "Early on, we were not going to be in a rush and it worked out pretty well."

Douglass' Cade James looks for an open teammate during their game at Oakwood on Friday night. (Christopher Vinn, ETSN.fm)
Douglass' Cade James looks for an open teammate during their game at Oakwood on Friday night. (Christopher Vinn, ETSN.fm)
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A pair of 3-pointers by Anderson helped Oakwood to a 32-26 lead in the third quarter. An Anderson-to-Durham basket increased the lead to 34-27 at the 7:06 mark of the fourth before both teams went cold from the floor. The next basket -- a Durham layup that pushed the lead to 36-27 -- didn't occur until there was 3:15 remaining.

Douglass, which made only five field goals in the second half, also went just 3-of-10 from the free-throw line over the game's final two periods.

"(Oakwood) went man and put pressure on us and we had to expend a lot of energy on defense, so we missed some shots and that hurt," Coach Westbrook said. "Then they kinda got into a little bit of a flow, and a team like that when they get the lead, you're kinda behind the eight-ball. I thought the effort that the kids gave was fantastic. It's been a tough week with Laneville and Oakwood, but we're going to go back to the drawing board and keep battling."

Oakwood's season resumes Tuesday at home against Kennard, while Douglass will look to snap its two-game losing skid when it hosts Apple Springs on Tuesday.

Douglass' Bryce Westbrook dribbles around Oakwood's Jacquez Anderson during their game Friday night in Oakwood. (Christopher Vinn, ETSN.fm)
Douglass' Bryce Westbrook dribbles around Oakwood's Jacquez Anderson during their game Friday night in Oakwood. (Christopher Vinn, ETSN.fm)
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No. 1 Oakwood 48, No. 7 Douglass 34

District 25-A Division II Boys Basketball

Douglass           10   10    7    7   --   34
Oakwood          12    8   12   14   --  48
DOUGLASS (18-5, 3-2) -- Bryce Westbrook, 20; Tim Ham, 6; Trenton Carrigan, 3; Cade James, 3; Peyton Burton, 2.
OAKWOOD (16-2, 4-0) -- Damiyne Durham, 24; Jacquez Anderson, 19; David Allen, 3; Jordan Hawkins, 2.
THREE-POINT GOALS -- Douglass: Westbrook (3), Carrigan, James. Oakwood: Anderson (3), Durham.

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