Seminole soccer in final four

Ashton Neff scored a goal off the bench with less than six minutes to play Wednesday to help Seminole squeak past DeLand for the second straight season in a Class 5A boys soccer region final.

The visiting Seminoles (25-1-3), ranked No. 1 in the Sentinel Super Six, held off No. 6 DeLand (18-4-0) for a 1-0 win at Sperling Sports Complex.

Seminole will host Plant City (17-1-0) in a state semifinal on Saturday at 7 p.m. It fell short of the state title game last year after losing 4-3 at Bradenton Lakewood Ranch.

“We have the experience this year because this is our second time around, so hopefully with that experience we’ll be more composed and be able to go all the way,” Neff said.

Neff scored when he slid into the 6-yard box and knocked home a cross from the right corner by Mathias Etoh. The scoring chance was generated when Gabriel Toro maintained possession of the ball near midfield and broke loose from a defender.

Following an evenly played first half that was packed with scoring chances for both sides, it seemed only a matter of time before Seminole would find the back of the net as they kept DeLand on its heels down the stretch.

“As long as we keep putting in the work and playing the ball in the dangerous areas, at some point we’re gonna get a ball that bounces our way, or someone is gonna accept the responsibility to finish the shot,” Seminole coach Brian Emrick said. “And it was our captain that did it.”

Neff suffered an injury during the final week of the regular season and sat out the region quarterfinal round before playing just 10 minutes in the semifinals. He entered Wednesday’s match with 30 minutes remaining.

Celebration also won its region final 4-1 vs. visiting Delray Beach Atlantic. The Storm (16-2-4) will host the other 5A semifinal on Saturday.

Daytona Beach Seabreeze (16-2-4), the 3A state champion last season, is back in the final four after winning 3-0 against visiting Sunlake of Land O’ Lakes on Wednesday.

West Orange survived a furious Wekiva rally that sent the game into overtime and downed the Mustangs 76-73 in a Class 9A, District 3 boys basketball semifinal on Wednesday.

When Wekiva (11-15) senior Tyrone Perry, who led all scorers with 21 points, nailed a 25-foot 3-point shot at the buzzer to end the fourth quarter, it knotted the game at 65-65 and capped a rally from five points down with just 26 seconds remaining in regulation.

West Orange (14-12) jumped out to a 74-71 lead halfway through overtime and then went into a stall, taking nearly 90 seconds off the clock. The Warriors made just 2-of-6 foul shots down the stretch but played good defense to keep Wekiva from tying the game.

West Orange got balanced scoring with four players in double figures. Tyler Yorke led the Warriors with 19.

The Warriors will play for the district championship on Friday night against tournament host Apopka (16-9), which won the second semifinal 62-39 over Evans.

Apopka scored the first 23 points of its game against Evans. Nothing would fall for the Trojans (12-14) while the Blue Darters were getting easy buckets to build a 19-0 first-quarter lead. Evans’ Clarence Cummings 3-pointer from the top of the key with 5:55 left in the second period marked the first points for the Trojans.

Apopka and West Orange split their two regular season meetings. Both victories were by the road team.

Lake Highland Prep and Windermere Prep both used third quarter runs to score semifinal victories in the Class 5A, District 6 basketball tournament on Wednesday.

The Highlanders (20-6) and Lakers (13-13) will play for the championship on Friday at 7 at Trinity Prep.

Senior guard Rahsaan Lewis scored 33 points to lead top seed Windermere Prep to a 77-67 win against The First Academy (15-12). The game was tied 36-36 with five minutes to go in the third period when the Lakers reeled off seven straight points on their way to building a double digit lead.

Elwood Tomlinson points for TFA.

Lake Highland, which lost seasonending district semifinal games in scored 27 each of the past two seasons, is assured of joining Windermere Prep in region play next week after winning 55-46 against Jones. The Highlanders started the third quarter against Jones with an 8-1 run as they expanded a two-point lead to double digits.

Senior guard Nick Honor led Lake Highland with 18 points.

Oak Ridge and Dr. Phillips will meet in Friday’s 9A-5 final after scoring semifinal victories.

Oak Ridge (24-4) advanced with a 77-54 blowout win over Cypress Creek. Emmitt Williams, an LSU commit, led the Pioneers with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Texas A&M commit Antwann Jones added 17 points and junior Kaleb Coleman scored 15.

For Dr. Phillips (18-7), the 58-45 semifinal victory completed a season sweep of rival Olympia (15-11). Mercer signee Daniel Love led all scorers with 29 points for the Panthers.

Tipoff for Friday’s game is set for 7 p.m. at Freedom High School

In the 8A-5 tournament, host Ocoee won for the second time against a higher seed to reach Friday’s district final. The Knights, who beat third seed Windermere on Monday, knocked third seed East Ridge out of the playoffs with a 50-45 victory.

Jamel Pieere scored 25 points to lead the Knights (12-15), who came into the week as the sixth seed based on regular season league play.

Top seed Edgewater (21-5) rolled to a 92-70 win vs. Lake Minneola (13-14). Elsewhere in boys basketball: Top seed Seminole (23-3) won its 9A-2 semifinal 58-43 over Winter Springs and will meet Oviedo (21-6) in Friday’s championship game at Lake Brantley. Timothy Adside scored 18 points and O’Shea 17 for the Seminoles. Cole Duncan had 22 for the Bears. Oviedo edged Lyman 49-44 with Aidan Knight scoring 22 points.

Top seed Kissimmee Osceola (20-6) won 69-47 over Haines City and will host Lakeland George Jenkins in Friday’s 9A-7 final.

Top seed Master’s Academy crushed Lakeland Christian 76-39 in 4A-3. Senior guard Jose Placer had 19 points and eight assists for the Eagles (19-7), who play Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic (14-13) in Friday’s final.