The third time is a charm, as the old saying goes. But the Frederick Douglass High School boys' basketball team put a new twist into that old adage after eliminating second-seeded Gwynn Park, 60-55, in a 2A South Region semifinal game Wednesday evening before a packed gymnasium in Brandywine.

After two losses to the Yellow Jackets this season – including a 23-point defeat a month ago on the same floor – the Eagles bounced back and got the best of their arch rival. Douglass' effort was aided a steady stream of transition points and free throws during a fourth-quarter comeback where Eagles outscored Gwynn Park, 21-13.

"Our inside game was a lot more aggressive than it was the last time [we played Gwynn Park]," said Douglass coach Tyrone Massenburg. "I think they outscored our post players, maybe four to one the last game. But I think we were a little more aggressive this time from the beginning.

"We've come so far. We're a young team and I guess we just started playing a lot better basketball. And it meant a lot to the seniors we have that haven't had a lot of success winning in this particular kind of situation."

Douglass (13-10), seeded 11th, will travel to River Hill for the regional final. River Hill upset top-seeded Hammond, 43-41, on Wednesday in the other 2A South semifinal.

The Eagles are 2-0 this postseason on the road, having also eliminated second-seeded North Point on Tuesday. A win at River Hill would put Douglass in the state tournament, two wins away from the Upper Marlboro school's first state championship since 1966.

"The further along you go, the tougher the teams are," said Massenburg. "We're expecting a real tough game [in the region final] in a hostile environment."

Douglass led Gwynn Park by two at halftime, but entered the fourth quarter trailing by three. The Yellow Jackets began turning the ball over frequently, and they seemed unable to stop the Eagles' transition game. Douglass took the lead for good with 4 minutes, 50 seconds to play.

Key late buckets from close range by senior Justin Mays (12 points) and sophomore Timmone Whatley (10 points), along with James Brandon and Eric Washington, put the game out of reach in the final two minutes. They and their teammates also were quicker to loose balls and seemed to particularly break the Yellow Jackets' press down the stretch.

Losing sophomore point guard Brandon Ford for the season to a concussion Feb. 20 came back to haunt the Yellow Jackets' chances of a deeper postseason run.

"I think the loss of Brandon hurt us," said Gwynn Park coach Mike Glick, whose team had 22 turnovers. "It doesn't take anything away from what Douglass has done. Douglass had a great end of the season. Coach Massenburg has done a great job in his first year and it's hard [for any team] to beat a good team three times. However, losing Brandon, he was our primary ballhandler. I thought we became a team that could not handle pressure nearly as well and we lost by it."

Gwynn Park senior Corey Anderson had game-highs of 21 points and 15 rebounds. He scored nine points in the third quarter, but in the fourth quarter he was held to a 3-point field goal with six seconds to play.

The Yellow Jackets finished the season 18-6 overall, which included a 16-2 mark in the County3A/2A/1A League.

Frederick Douglass 60, Gwynn Park 55

FD 12 15 12 21 – 60

GP 10 15 17 13 – 55

Frederick Douglass (13-10): Mays 12, Whatley 10, Fennell 9, Washington 9, Bonhom 8, Brandon 6, Murray 4, Williams 2.

Gwynn Park (18-6): Anderson 21, Thomas 15, Hall 5, Woodard 4, Coates 4, Blue 2, Fourth 2, Malik 2.