Evans High lost to Oak Ridge in a clash of state-ranked boys basketball rivals to cap the inaugural Chocolate Thunder Classic on Saturday night.
But what the scorebook won’t show is how much the festivities attached to the tripleheader at Evans meant for two families and former players, coaches and fans of a program that has thrived as one of Orlando’s best since the 1960s.
Before Oak Ridge topped the Trojans 55-48, Evans honored Darryl Dawkins and Chucky Atkins, former EHS greats, by retiring their jersey numbers. Both had notable NBA careers.
“For me, everything started at 4949 Silver Star Road (the Evans address),” Atkins said before the ceremony. “It’s funny how life comes full circle. My first varsity basketball game as a ninth grader was against Oak Ridge, which was beating everybody back then.”
He repeated that message when he was handed the microphone to address a crowd that was big, but not like the standing-room-only throngs that waited in line to watch 6-foot-10 Dawkins dominate inside for the school’s 1975 state championship team and Atkins excel as a 1990s point guard.
Atkins, who came back to Evans to coach two state runner-up teams after his pro career, gave special thanks to his high school head coach Calvin Lingebach, who was in the crowd.
Dawkins, a legendary dunker who was the first player to jump from high school to the NBA, died from a heart attack in 2015 at the age of 58. His sister, Amanda — one of five siblings — spoke on Darryl’s behalf and thanked all involved.
“I thought it was a good day,” Evans coach Lonza Morgan. “We’re looking forward to doing it again next year and recognize some more.”
One big mistake was made. The framed jersey commemorating Dawkins had the No. 55. He wore 53 for the Trojans and in most of his NBA games. That will be corrected.
Chocolate Thunder Classic pays tribute to Evans High greats | Varsity Weekly
UCF signee Donovan Williams had 15 points, including 4 dunks, to lead Oak Ridge (14-8), ranked No. 5 in the FHSAA Class 7A power rankings, past 6A No. 5 Evans (18-5). Tim Winkler, Oak Ridge’s 6-foot-10 center headed to Yale, had 7 points, 9 rebounds, 2 dunks and 2 blocked shots in the win.
“That’s the best game Tim has played,” Pioneers coach Steve Race said afterward. “I liked that we played both ends of the court. We set the pace.”
Dewayne Dixon, a 6-10 senior, had 17 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocked shots for Evans. The Trojans trailed 31-18 late in the second quarter before scoring 9 consecutive points to pull to within 31-27. But Winkler and Williams combined to score the next 8 to put the Pioneers back in charge.
“We got stop after stop after stop (defensively), but we couldn’t score when we needed to,” Morgan said. “Too many turnovers to beat an Oak Ridge team.”
Oak Ridge won the Metro Conference East title and is 8-1 against area teams, losing only to No. 1 ranked Lake Highland Prep in an early season road game. Evans, the Metro West champ, is 12-2 against locals going into a home game Thursday against 6A No. 6 Lake Howell (18-5) to wrap up its regular season.
UCF signee Donovan Williams back in home court | Boys Basketball Preview
Oak Ridge continues a rugged schedule with a Tuesday 6 p.m. home game against Jacksonville’s 2A No. 1 Providence School (20-3), which recently regained 6-8 junior power forward Nolan Nelson, a 4-star prospect. He transferred to SPIRE Academy of Ohio in August but is now back with the Stallions. Oak Ridge hosts Jones (10-10) in its Thursday regular season finale.
In the early games in the tripleheader, Seminole (8-14) rallied from down 21-7 to win 55-52 against Jones (10-10); and Edgewater (15-7), ranked No. 5 in 6A, used suffocating defense to rout 4A No. 11 St. Petersburg Gibbs 69-25.
Edgewater is home against 7A No. 13 Windermere (10-12) on Monday and 7A No. 9 Kissimmee Osceola (16-5) on Thursday.
Amanda Dawkins (left) spoke about her brother, Darryl, with her fiancee, Fredrick Johnson, holding the framed jersey of the legendary former Evans High and NBA player. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
Elsewhere Saturday
Robert Oskarsson had 17 points and Shiva Atwal added 15 for Lake Highland Prep (21-1) in an 81-47 win vs. Timber Creek (11-11) at the Kalyn High Master’s Classic.
Windermere lost 83-77 in overtime against SLAM (12-10) of Miami in the Iversen Classic at Villages Charter.
Oviedo (16-5), No. 8 in 6A, outscored Pine Ridge 72-57; and 1A No. 3 CFCA (16-5) beat 2A No. 5 True North (17-6) of Miami by a 54-48 score in the same event.
Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.