The Yellow Jackets will play host to County 3A/2A/1A League rival Frederick Douglass on Thursday in a region semifinal game. It's a contest that seemed destined to happen at the beginning of the season. But before both teams began preparations for Thursday night's clash, they both needed to take care of business in the quarterfinals on Tuesday.

The Yellow Jackets easily defeated Long Reach, 66-44, in a 2A South Region quarterfinal, while Douglass took care of McDonough, 57-45.

"You have two very evenly matched teams that have great players and are well coached," Glick said of his Yellow Jackets and Douglass. "The team that does the little things right is probably going to come out with the victory."

Four players scored in double figures for the Yellow Jackets in their victory against Long Reach. Brandon Ford and Curtis Hardy each had 12, while Mike Hemsley added 11 and Tion Barnes scored 10.

Gwynn Park led 21-5 at the end of the first quarter and stretched that lead to 20 points midway through the second quarter. Long Reach cut the lead to 10 several times in the third quarter, but Gwynn Park pushed it back to 20 points midway through the fourth period.

It was a convincing victory for a Gwynn Park team that suffered a heartbreaking defeat the last time it was on the court.

In their last game prior to Tuesday's regional quarterfinal, the Yellow Jackets dropped a 73-72 decision to Oxon Hill in the Prince George's County championship on Feb. 24. Gwynn Park led by 12 late in the fourth quarter, but couldn't hang on as Oxon Hill closed the game on a 14-1 run.

Hemsley said the team called a players-only meeting after the loss to Oxon Hill to refocus on the ultimate goal, which is getting back to the University of Maryland, College Park's Comcast Center for the state tournament.

"We needed to come together as a family," Hemsley said. "We needed to remain focused and try and win this thing."

But before the Yellow Jackets think about making another trip to the Comcast Center, they need to win the season series against their rivals from Douglass. The teams split the first two meetings with each winning on its own court. Douglass defeated Gwynn Park, 77-73, while the Yellow Jackets evened the score, 67-51.

But Douglass still holds bragging rights against the Yellow Jackets. The Eagles won at Gwynn Park last season in the 2A South semifinals on their way to a Class 3A state runner-up finish.

Glick said Thursday's game is going to be similar to the first time the two teams met.

"It's going to be a heck of a game," he said. "Both teams have one day to come up with a game plan. The previous two meetings mean nothing."