Published on: Wednesday, March 03, 2010

By Brandy L. Simms

The DeMatha basketball program closed a chapter in the storied history of the Hyattsville school last week by playing the final regular season game in the gymnasium bearing the name of its Hall of Fame former head coach.

Next year, DeMatha moves into an $8 million on-campus Convocation Center with 1,200 seats to double its seating capacity.

DeMatha senior Victor Oladipo and junior Quinn Cook each scored 15 points to lead the Stags to a 79-65 victory over Good Counsel Thursday in the Morgan Wootten Gymnasium.

“This is a very monumental occasion in DeMatha’s history,” DeMatha head coach Mike Jones told the crowd afterward.

The win marked the final regular season game played in the historic gymnasium where DeMatha compiled a record of 710-71 during a span of six decades.

“I feel honored,” the Indiana-bound Oladipo said afterward. “I wouldn’t even think that my class would be the class to do that when I first got here. As many players and as many legendary players that have played in that gym, to be named one of them or been named a part of the team that is closing out that gym is an honor for me just because I love this school and I love the legacy of it.”

Scores of people including former players, parents, students and alumni came out on Senior Night to celebrate the gym’s closing.

Former DeMatha football and basketball standout Kenny Tate was among those in attendance. In fact, during the postgame ceremony, Tate threw an alley-oop pass to Oladipo who dunked the ball and then retrieved it and headed for the new gymnasium.

“It was a great honor,” said Tate, a 2008 DeMatha graduate and current University of Maryland football player.

“Just to see just the legacy of DeMatha basketball. I was just glad to be honored and standing with those players.”