In the third-place game at the Myrtle Beach Invitational, the Raiders were down three to South Florida with a half-minute to go, and coach Clint Sargent called timeout and told his team to put the ball into Jack Doumbia’s hands.
The senior forward responded with a driving layup with 23 seconds left. And when the Bulls tried an unnecessary alley-oop and committed a turnover, the Raiders went back to Doumbia, who connected on a 15-footer with 6.8 seconds.
“We had an ‘iso’ play for Jack right out of a timeout, he did a great job executing that,” said Sargent, meaning isolating him to create a one-on-one match-up. “The following play, we had another ‘iso’ for him in the middle of the floor, which he scored.”
Why no Huibregtse or Noel in that situation? After all, they’ve made plenty of big-time buckets.
“Brandon and Alex had carried a lot of the load the first two games, and they were tired,” Sargent said.
“Jack had it going, and he’s a hard ‘guard’ one-on-one. (Opponents) know it. I know it. So, it was an easy call for me to go to him, and he proved me right.”
South Florida raced down the floor after the Raiders took the lead, and Jayden Reid swished a baseline jumper for a 73-72 win. But Doumbia finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, both team highs.
In the opening romp over Princeton, he tallied eight points and 12 rebounds. He then made his first start of the year against Bradley and had 16 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists in 33 minutes.
In a glaring omission, he was left off the 10-player all-tournament team. Brandon Noel, who had 58 points and 18 rebounds over the three games, was the only Raider to make it.
Bradley, which won the event, had three players make all-tourney, which was expected. But Ohio, which went 1-2 and finished sixth, had two players picked. Huh?
But that didn’t diminish Doumbia’s accomplishments.
The sturdy Mike Imariagbe (6-foot-6, 220) has been getting most of the starts at the 4 spot, but Doumbia (6-6, 195) is making a push to become a full-time starter.
He brings athleticism to the lineup — something that’s been sorely lacking the last two years.
“He gives us a little bit different look with our coverages,” Sargent said, meaning he’s able to switch ball screens, which generally slows down offenses. “And he’s proven he’ll produce when he’s out there.”
Doumbia is third on the team in scoring (9.4), second in rebounding (5.6), fourth in assists (1.6) and second in steals (1.5).
“He’s a little bit different than what we’ve had in previous years, which is why we were so excited to get him,” Sargent said.
“He just can make plays, really, that nobody else on our team can.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Air Force at Wright State, 7 p.m., 101.5, 1410
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