And just imagine when Dunbar gets completely healthy.
The No. 2 Poets, seemingly down because of various minor injuries during the preseason, showed that they are far from out, routing No. 4 Walbrook, 104-81, in the final game of the Tip-Off Mixer at Lake Clifton last night.
Senior forward Marvis Thornton led all scorers with 37 points for the Poets (2-0). Tommy Polley added 20, Billy Wells had 14 and Robert Foster scored 13.
Foster, a 6-foot-6 senior center, was playing in his first varsity game in nearly two seasons. Last season, Foster sat out because of heart problems. Then in the preseason he injured his right foot and was thought be out at least through December, but he started last night and was effective, also pulling down nine rebounds.
Tyrone Jones (hip), Thornton (bruised back), Reggie Boyce (shoulder) and Jeryl Singletary (hip) also have been hindered.
But in the season's first major matchup of perennial powers, Dunbar rose to the occasion, going on a 31-9 run in the second half, turning a 45-41 halftime lead into 76-50 late in the third quarter.
"I thought we had a good first period," said Dunbar coach Paul Smith. "When they came back in the second period, we came out of the gate in the second half and re-established ourselves in terms of things that we wanted to do on both ends of the floor."
"The injuries probably hurt off the court, but no one felt it on the court," said Thornton. "You see how fast we got up and down the court and the rebounds we got."
In other games, No. 1 Lake Clifton turned back Mervo (0-2), 90-51; No. 6 Southwestern (3-0) defeated City (0-2), 76-37; No. 16 Edmondson (2-0) defeated Northwestern (0-2), 83-74; No. 18 Douglass (2-0) defeated Forest Park (0-2), 63-51; and Poly (1-2) defeated Patterson (0-2), 69-61.
No. 5 Southern-B did not play its scheduled game with Northern because it's playing in a tournament in Virginia. Mixer Tournament co-director and Mervo coach Woody Williams said a decision on whether the Bulldogs will have to forfeit the Northern game will be made this week.
Lake Clifton (2-0), ranked No. 14 by USA Today, found itself in a battle with Mervo for a while before finally pulling away in the second half.
The Lakers trailed Mervo, 27-25, with 1:07 remaining in the first half, then scored the final seven points to take a 32-27 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Lake Clifton outscored the Mustangs (0-2), 32-10.
Shawnta Rogers led all scorers with 30 points.