His team lost all five starters from last year and it was unclear how the returning players would respond.

Watching the Yellow Jackets demolish rival Frederick Douglass, 81-66, in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Gwynn Park on Friday, however, one would have thought Glick’s lineup has played together since birth.

Gwynn Park 6-foot-9 senior center Marcel Boyd and senior swing man Xavier Richards combined to score 43 points and grab 23 rebounds in the dominant effort. Both played above the rim more often than not in helping the Yellow Jackets improve to 4-0.

The duo commenced the onslaught from the opening tip when Boyd swatted the ball into Gwynn Park’s offensive zone. Richards then ran onto it, took two steps and dunked it with both hands. It was the first of three dunks for Richards, while Boyd added two, including a breakway dunk that gave Gwynn Park its largest lead of the night, 72-51, midway through the fourth quarter.

“Marcel Boyd has taken his game to a different level,” Glick said. “A lot of the credit goes to Marcel and him stepping up his game. And Xavier Richards is sparking us offensively. He’s a tough matchup.”

Boyd finished with a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds while Richards added 20 points and 10 rebounds. Boyd was 10 of 15 from the floor with the majority of his buckets coming in the paint. Despite being double-teamed often, Boyd frequently converted or found an open man (he had four assists).

Richards, meanwhile, was 9 of 16, scoring in a variety of ways. He displayed an unmatched level of athleticism not only with his dunking ability, but his quickness off the ball and rebounding in traffic. The Yellow Jackets beat Douglass (1-3) on the boards 39-25 in what Glick called his team’s best rebounding effort this season.

“It’s a very unique team and a very disciplined team,” Glick said. “It’s a very together team and a very unselfish team. I think that makes up for the lack of experience.”

Facilitating for the Yellow Jackets was 6-foot-4 senior point guard Jarvis Hawkins, who finished with 11 points and five assists. His calming presence and heady play allowed Gwynn Park to perform like a veteran squad despite its rather inexperienced roster.

“I came in here knowing that I would have to do a lot for my team to win,” Hawkins said. “Whatever my team needs for us to get the win, I’m there.”

Despite four Douglass players recording double figures in points — led by 16 apiece from Saquan Epps-Walker (who also had nine rebounds) and JaSahn Johnson — Gwynn Park’s attack was too meticulous and unrelenting for the Eagles to counter.

“We knew they had height. It played a bigger role than we anticipated,” said Douglass coach Tyrone Massenburg. “[Richards], his athleticism, we just couldn’t match it on our side. We had a hard time containing him. It was a good night for them. We picked a bad time to not really play our best.”

The teams traded blows evenly in the first quarter, which ended 19-18 in favor of Gwynn Park, but the Yellow Jackets pulled away with an 8-0 run midway through the second quarter and their lead was never again threatened.

Both teams will play Saturday in the second annual MTB Winter Showcase-2A/3A vs. 4A Challenge at Riverdale Baptist. Douglass will face Bowie at 6:40 p.m. before Gwynn Park takes on Eleanor Roosevelt at 8:20 p.m.

“We’re looking forward to it. We get to represent our league and enter as the underdog,” Glick said.

ncammarota@gazette.net

Gwynn Park 81, Douglass 66

Frederick Douglass 18 12 10 26 — 66

Gwynn Park 19 18 23 21 — 81

Gwynn Park (4-0): Marcel Boyd 23, Xavier Richards 20, Jalen Harris 14, Jarvis Hawkins 11, Trevor Ford 6, Ackhel Bazil 4, Ageyi Gregory 3

Douglass (1-3): JaSahn Johnson 16, Saquan Epps-Walker 16, Mike Cunningham 10, Marvis Davies 10, John Carroll 4, Davonte Gordon 4, Marsalis Hurley 4, Jeffrey Calhoun 2