Lions can now take pride in 100-point streak mark
Another piece of immortality belongs to the Yates basketball program.
The Lions defeated Scarborough 124-67 on Tuesday, setting a national record of 16 consecutive games with 100 or more points. Yates bests itself with the feat, eclipsing the mark of 15 straight set by the Lions’ 2009-10 team.
The 101st point came courtesy of Marc-Anthony Batts’ dunk with two minutes left in the third quarter, triggering a “Third Ward High” chant from the Yates faithful at The Pavilion.
Daryl Brown caught a long pass on the fast break and popped the ball back to Batts, who was running full speed toward the basket. It’s debatable if it was the easiest dunk of Batts’ career. It’s indisputable that it was one of the most important.
“It feels great that we’re going to be remembered for a long time after we leave here, to firmly be part of Jack Yates history,” said Batts, who scored six of his eight points in the third. “Not even that, state history and national history.”
This year’s Yates team (19-4) secures the record with two regular-season games and the postseason to spare. The 2009-10 team, which went 34-0, won a Class 4A state title and was crowned national champions by MaxPreps, set the previous standard in the state semifinals in 2010 and missed extending it in the title game by eight points.
This was a Scarborough team that Yates scored 118 points against on Jan. 18. This time, the Spartans were scrappy enough early before the Lions soon put a stranglehold on the game. Yates led 34-22 at the end of the first, reached the 50point mark with 4:30 left in the second and ballooned its lead to 107-48 by the end of the third.
Yates placed nine players in double-figure scoring, a common occurrence when the Lions are at their peak. Senior guard Rubin Jones led with 19 points, Joseph Ross, Brown and Elijah Elliott had 10 each, Antwon Norman added 16, Jamarcus Guy had 11 and Latrell Moore, Allen Udemadu and Chuks Isitua posted 12 apiece.
Scarborough (4-16) received 19 points apiece from Mike Douglas and Josiah Green.
Yates, ranked No. 1 in the state in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches’ Class 4A poll, has not lost since Nov. 30, 2019.
To call this a weight off the Yates players’ backs is inaccurate. There wasn’t any pressure on them, Lions coach Greg Wise said. He said they continued to be themselves through the streak and consider this the bow on top of what could be a state championship-winning season.
“I look at it too much as wanting to enjoy everything,” Wise said. “If you sit there and worry and not be comfortable in what you’re doing, then you’re losing out on a blessing. It was a blessing to be able to have these kids and be able to play like that. If you look back and didn’t enjoy that, I think you’re losing out on what life is about.”
This Yates team may have one-upped its 2009-10 brethren with the streak, but the latter is still viewed in high regard. With the 10th anniversary of that state title season looming, Wise said there are plans to honor that team during the Lions’ bidistrict playoff game.