Oak Ridge, OCP, Lake Highland off to state
Michael James scored 22 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked two shots to lead Oak Ridge to a 70-51 win over Windermere in Friday night’s Class 7A, Region 2 boys basketball championship game.
It was the third consecutive region road win for the Pioneers (21-8), who will return to the state tournament two years after winning the 2018 large-class championship.
The Pioneers will play Region 4 champ Miramar (22-6) in a state semifinal next Friday afternoon at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
Oak Ridge jumped out to a 9-2 lead to start Friday’s game and never trailed. Six Oak Ridge players scored seven or more points. Roderick Henry had 7 to go with 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. Fabio Basil scored 11.
“We were able to grab that double-digit lead early and that really set the tone for us all night,” Pioneers coach Steve Reece said. “We had to beat three really good teams on the road and to come in here tonight and beat a team like this was a great accomplishment.”
Windermere (21-10) was led by Kanye Jones’ 16 points.
Highlanders win region: The bad news for Lake Highland Prep headed into Friday’s 4A Region 2 final was that leading scorer Brice Sensabaugh would not be playing once again.
“I don’t know if we’ll get him back,” Highlanders coach Ben Fratrik said of the 6-foot-4 sophomore, who has been out due to a “banged up knee.”
But Sensabaugh’s absence didn’t stop the Highlanders from securing a berth in next week’s state tournament. Victor Brown Jr. scored a game-high 26 points as Lake Highland posted a 59-42 victory vs. visiting Gainesville Eastside.
“We’ve got that next-man-up mentality,” Fratrik said. “When we play unselfish, I believe a team like this can overcome Brice’s injury.”
Lake Highland (24-6) advances to a Thursday semifinal game in Lakeland. The Highlanders will play top seed Tampa Catholic (25-5).
OCP takes out CFCA: Orlando Christian Prep’s top-ranked team, led by sophomore A.J. Brown, got hot when it mattered most in Friday’s 2A, Region 3 final against visiting Central Florida Christian Academy.
The Warriors went on a 12-0 run to rally from an early fourthquarter deficit and beat CFCA 60-49. Brown had six of his 11 fourth-quarter points in the run to ignite the home crowd. He with 16 points.
“Anthony knew we just had to get it going,” OCP coach Treig Burke said. “We just had to settle down a little bit.”
OCP, which is No. 1 in the 2A state power ratings and the Sentinel Super 16 area rankings, advances to next week’s state tournament in Lakeland for the 12th time in a span of 13 seasons.
The semifinal opponent on Wednesday will be Tampa Bayshore Christian (19-8).
CFCA (22-8) rode the play of Riley Kugel, Marco Martinez and Nick Silva to take a 20-17 halftime lead. Kugel finished with a gamehigh 18 points, including four 3-point shots.
The Eagles by as many as six points in the third quarter before OCP rallied behind the play of Omar Figueroa to take a 34-30 lead. Figueroa finished with 17 points. finished
Lakers fall by 1: Windermere Prep missed three shots in the lane within the last five seconds as Andrew Jackson High of Jacksonville held on for a 54-53 victory over the Lakers Friday night to claim the 3A, Region 1 title and a return to the state Final Four in Lakeland next week.
Windermere Prep’s twin towers, 6-9 sophomore Fanbo Zeng (game-high 18 points) and 6-11 junior Elijah Hulsewe (12 points), kept the Lakers close after Jackson’s pressure defense gained as much as an eight-point lead in the third quarter.
The Lakers (27-4) erased a sixpoint fourth-quarter deficit and took the lead at 53-52 on a Hulsewe layup with 47 seconds remaining. Jackson guard Kevin Odom countered with a jumper in the lane for a 54-53 lead with 31 seconds remaining.
After a Windermere Prep turnover and a missed free throw by Jackson, a ball bounced out of the crowd and the clock was stopped with 8.3 seconds to go. The Lakers isolated the left-handed Zeng and he drove the lane and missed, then missed a tip try and Hulsewe’s third shot rolled out. A fourth shot, which went in, was deemed to come after the final buzzer.
“When you leave it to the last few seconds of the game, sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way,” said Windermere Prep coach Brian Hoff, who team had won 14 consecutive games.
Jackson (24-3) returns to the state Final Four, a year after losing to Ft. Lauderdale University in last season’s Class 5A title game.
Jones falls at Sebring: Jones High lost 56-51 at Sebring in the 5A, Region 2 final.
Anthony Henson scored 21 points for Tigers, who finished 17-11 for the season after starting 0-7.
SIAA playoffs are set: The Sunshine State Independent Athletic Association will hold its playoffs in Orlando for the first time this weekend and area powers West Oaks Academy and Central Pointe Christian are the favorites.
Top seed West Oaks is 25-6 going into a 5:45 p.m. semifinal game today against fourth seed Victory Rock Prep of Sarasota, a team the Flame beat 92-84 and 69-64 in competition regular season games.
West Oaks has four major college prospects averaging 14 points or more, led by Kansas State signee Selton Miguel (21 ppg.). Jadrian Tracy averages 16, A.J. Staton 15 and AJ Neal 14.
Second seed Central Pointe (23-7) plays at 7:45 against No. 3 The Rock (26-10) of Gainesville, which it beat 81-74 and 94-84. Central Pointe is also deep in college prospects, including Florida Gulf Coast signees Luis Rolon and Victor Rosa, 6-foot-9 UNF signee Jonathan Aybar, and 6-6 junior Ramses Melendez.