Pioneers punch ticket for state tourney
The Oak Ridge boys basketball team bounced up and down joyously to Chief Keef ’s rap song, surrounded in a wild celebration by fans who spilled onto the gym floor after the Pioneers pulled out a heartpounding 57-54 region championship win over Kissimmee Osceola on Friday night.
Oak Ridge fans stormed their home court after a halfcourt heave by Osceola’s Jaduhkiss Soto sailed wide of the basket as the horn sounded.
The victory propels the Pioneers (28-4), in search of their storied program’s first state championship, to next week’s final four. Oak Ridge will play Region 1 winner West Orange (17-13) in an allCentral Florida semifinal Friday night at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
There would have been no postgame dance had nationally ranked Oak Ridge not gotten contributions from unsung seniors Rob Perry and and Marcus Taylor and remained calm in the closing minutes of a game that teetered back and forth with a state tournament trip on the line and a near-capacity crowd on edge. Both teams also had to trust reserves with key players on both sides hindered by foul trouble.
“All we did was keep our composure,” Perry said. “I told coach [Steve Reece], ‘I’ll do whatever you want me to do. I’m not ready to go home.’ ”
Osceola (23-7), which beat the Pioneers 63-60 a year on its way to the state championship, was up by one point going into the final minute. But the Kowboys made two costly turnovers in the final minute and Oak Ridge took advantage.
Perry, a senior starter, led the charge down the stretch. He made a 3-point shot from close to 30 feet out for a 50-49 lead. Osceola answered with a 3-ball by Armani Thomas — setting the stage for a wild finish.
Perry, who scored a game-high 18 points, grabbed an errant Kowboys pass and drove for a layup to put his team ahead 53-52 with 54.5 seconds to go. After another Osceola mistake, Oak Ridge senior Damon Harge scored another layin off a sideline inbounds play.
Soto was fouled on a 3-point shot attempt and made two of his three free throws to slice the lead to 55-54 with 15.8 seconds remaining. Oak Ridge then sealed the deal when Taylor was fouled and made two free throws with 3.5 seconds to go.
“They’a helluva team,” Reece said of Osceola. “Tonight, we won off all of those games we played out of town against national teams. That prepared us. We finally executed down the stretch.”
Perry had a game-high 18 points. Teammate Antwann Jones fouled out with 17.
Both big men, Osceola’s 6-foot-9 Omar Payne and 6-7 Emmitt Williams of Oak Ridge, were limited due to fouls. Williams still managed seven rebounds, three blocked shots and three dunks.
Payne had four blocked shots, six rebounds and two dunks, but he sat out most of the first half after he was assessed a personal foul and then a technical foul after battling for a rebound in the early going.
Oak Ridge will make its fifth state tournament appearance. The Pioneers lost state finals in 1989, 2010 and 2012 and a semifinal in 2001.