After losing its star forward, Durham Academy wins its first TISAC title in 14 years

The Cavaliers are 25-4 this season and 7-0 in conference. They’ve held their own at various tournaments such as the John Wall Holiday Invitational. They rank among MaxPreps’ top five teams in the Raleigh area, top 10 independent schools and top 30 teams in the state.

But take a look at what — well, more specifically, who — Durham Academy has done it without, and its 2019-20 campaign looks even more impressive.

Marquise “M.J.” Rice, a five-star sophomore who ranked 11th in ESPN’s most recent Class of 2022 big board, helped the team run out to a 15-1 record. But a non-contact ACL tear in a Dec. 23 loss ended the phenom forward’s season in early and shocking fashion.

So how have the Cavaliers reacted to losing Rice, their best player, who averaged 18.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and an eye-popping dunk or two a game? Durham Academy is already among the Triangle’s top basketball teams this season.

After routing Cary Academy, 75-34, on Friday, they’ve won 10 of their last 12 contests and finished the first month of the new year 8-0.

“I think it’s realizing that we all have to step our games up and do it for him, in a sense,” junior forward Toby Harris said. “We’ve got to keep playing our hardest.”

Harris has definitely done that — he started the season as a reserve, but, since Rice’s injury, has moved into the starting lineup and now averages 11.9 points and 5.3 rebounds.

So has junior guard Cole Sinclair, the most productive 3-point shooter in Durham Academy history with a record 98 makes last year. He’s become the team’s go-to scorer (16.4 points a game) and had 18 in Friday night’s home win at Kirby Gym.

“Having a new identity this year since we lost ’Quise,” he said, “we’re just figuring out what we can do and putting the pieces together.”

Durham Academy’s strong supporting players

Harris and Sinclair have been the standouts, but athletic director Andy Pogach is quick to note others, too.

Junior Brent Randleman had a career-high 20 points in a Tuesday win at Ravenscroft — the first time Durham Academy has beat its rival on the road since 2006 — and scored 12, including a massive dunk, on Friday. Sophomore Nik Graves, who averages 7.9 points and five assists, is “the quarterback of the team,” Pogach said.

And seniors Christopher Chaves and Davis Beischer had some nice moments against Cary Academy — as did Jayde Braswell, an eighth grader playing up on the varsity team this season.

“It used to be, ‘We have M.J. If I don’t play well, it’s OK. We have M.J.,’” Pogach said. “Now, it’s, ‘We all have to play well’ — and everyone is playing well.”

The Cavaliers won a school-record 28 games last year under Tim McKenna, their coach of 14 years. They also won a share of the Triangle Independent Schools Athletic Conference title and advanced to the NCISAA semifinals, where they lost to eventual champion Greensboro Day.

On Friday, the team reached a new milestone in clinching its first outright TISAC title in 14 years.

It did so in comfortable fashion against a sub-.500 Cary Academy team. On its senior night, Durham Academy got out a 25-7 lead after the first quarter and boosted it to 44-21 at the half.

As the lead stretched into the 30s and its final margin of 41, McKenna rested most of his starters. Outside of Randleman’s thunderous dunk, the night’s largest cheer was for Benny Klein, a senior who returned from injury and sank a last-second three.

After the win, Harris and Sinclair said ball movement’s been the main factor in their January hot streak. And as the NCISAA 4A tournament looms — quarterfinal games start in two weeks — they agreed rebounding and defense are the keys to maintain the same success in the playoffs.

And, of course, they’re confident. After the past month’s success, why they wouldn’t they be?

“I think we’ve started to realize what we can do as a team if we really share the ball,” Harris said. “If our shooters are hitting like this guy (Sinclair) right here, I think we’re a pretty good team and hard to beat.”

This story was originally published January 31, 2020 at 11:29 PM with the headline "After losing its star forward, Durham Academy wins its first TISAC title in 14 years."