Sagemont boys’ basketball embracing rematch in state title game

Sagemont’s boys’ basketball team knew exactly what it needed to do when it left the RP Funding Center in Lakeland a year ago with a state runner-up medal.

Get bigger physically and stronger mentally.

The Lions have survived a trying journey back to the state championship game that included losing one of their best players to injury after it did just those things.

Sagemont cleared another obstacle Wednesday afternoon when it shook off a resilient effort from Jacksonville North Florida Educational Institute to secure a 71-65 victory in a Class 2A state semifinal.

Now, the Lions (28-4) will brace for their decisive test when they face Orlando Christian Prep in a rematch of last year’s final on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The Warriors (25-3) have won three consecutive state championships and have 10 overall — the third-most in state history behind Miami High and Malone.

Sagemont is chasing its third state title and first since 2014.

“We needed to learn to play more physical and utilize our depth to throw different things at them,” Sagemont coach David Roe said. “We were able to get bigger and we hope to use that size to our advantage.

“They’re a very good defensive team so it’s going to take that ball movement and defense to break them down and get our shots. We’re excited to get back at it on Friday and see if we learned enough [from last year].”

Some of that physical toughness was evident immediately in Wednesday’s game when guard Tynan Becker landed hard on his back after he was fouled on the way to the rim. Becker shook off the spill and played more than 28 minutes.

“Just had to get up and keep going for my team,” Becker said.

Unlike last season and most years for Orlando Christian Prep’s opponents, Roe’s squad might have the size across the board to counter the Warriors’ 6-6, athletic tandem of Marc Angueki and Isaiah Sutherland.

But more importantly, Sagemont has multiple guards who can keep the ball moving, shoot from distance, attack the rim and defend, which they will need against OCP’s potent scoring tandem of Ameer Ramadan and Isaiah Brown.

The Lions needed those skills on Wednesday in order to survive against NFEI’s potent scoring tandem of Juan Barbista (27 points) and Jeremiah Kwarteng (20 points), who kept the Fighting Eagles in the game until the final minute.

“We just tried to bother [Barbista] with our length,” Sagemont guard

Ashton Smith said. “We took pride in the way we defended and looked for a way to stop him in the second half.”

Sagemont used the size of 6-8 forward Danielius Kasparas (18 points, seven rebounds) and the sharp shooting of reserve guard Deontae Jean (five threepointers, 17 points) to pull away.

The Lions had five players score in double figures overall, however, as Maxx Martinez and Tynan Becker each had 11 points while Smith had 10 points and six assists.

“That [balance] is just practice for us,” Martinez said. “We move the ball like that in practice and it translates to the game so we just play to our strengths.”

The Lions needed to develop that collective identity at both ends of the court after guard Cameron Gibson was lost for the season when he tore his ACL after only nine games.

Sagemont regrouped and won its ninth consecutive game in order to get back to within a victory of a state title.

“We’re lucky that we’re deep, and we had to use them all today,” Roe said. “Having those extra bodies made a big difference down the stretch, and all of them have contributed to wins this year.”