2A: OCP routs Grandview; Brown shines
LAKELAND — It didn’t take long for undefeated Orlando Christian Prep to show the difference between its top-ranked team and second-ranked Boca Raton Grandview Prep.
The Warriors scored on their first five possessions and cruised to a 71-32 victory Wednesday in a Florida High School Athletic Association Class 2A boys basketball state semifinal.
“I’ve been in it 25 years [coaching], and that could be the best team I’ve faced as far as having everything,” Grandview Prep coach Joe Dawson said afterward. He lauded OCP’s superior size, ballhandling, shooting and depth.
A.J. Brown, OCP’s acrobatic junior, celebrated his 17th birthday with a gamehigh 29 points in just three quarters of play in the romp. The 6-foot-4 shining prospect made 11 of his 15 shot attempts — including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. He added seven rebounds and three steals.
Brown said he set up his big day by attacking the basket early, opening the door for open jump shots later. He also credited his teammates.
“I just kept knocking down shots,” Brown said with a big smile in the postgame press conference. “I give it to the guys who passed me the ball at the right time. As a basketball player, you’ve got to be able to hit open shots.”
The Warriors, 26-0 with 46 consecutive wins, shot 55% as a team (29-for-53) as sticky defense and crisp passing generated a wave of fastbreak opportunities and open jumpers. OCP had 14 steals and 14 assists.
“Again, our defense led to our offense,” OCP coach Treig Burke said.
Ven-Allen Lubin, a 6-7 junior, had 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting and added seven rebounds. Senior guards Josh Blazquez and Omar Figueroa provided points and alert passing.
Blazquez made 5-of-9 field goal attempts and finished with 10 points, four assists and three steals. Figueroa added nine points and four assists.
Jayden Hastings, a 6-10 sophomore, and Camden Easley, a 6-8 senior reserve, both had three blocked shots in the victory.
The last 2A team to get a shot at the Warriors this season will be third-ranked Impact Christian (20-8) of Jacksonville in Saturday’s 10 a.m. state championship game. OCP beat the Lions 58-44 in last season’s state final. The teams met again in December in a semifinal game of the Battle at the Villages tournament and the Warriors won by a bigger margin, 65-35.
Impact, ranked third in 2A, broke open a close game in the final quarter and won 69-54 against Southwest Florida Christian in its semifinal that opened the four-day FHSAA state tournament.
Figueroa set the tone when he opened OCP’s game with a made 3-point shot off the opening tip. The Warriors scored the first seven points and expanded their advantage to 23-6.
Grandview (16-3), which looked shell-shocked early, found some offense and went on a 13-6 second quarter run to close the gap to 29-22. But just when OCP appeared to be sinking, the Warriors righted the ship without using any timeouts and scored the final six points of the half to head to the locker room up 35-22.
Brown had a put-back dunk to start the sequence and Lubin followed with a steal and two free throws. Blazquez finished by dribbling into the lane and dropping in a doublepump short jumper as time expired.
It was all Orlando Christian Prep after the break.
“I think we came back together as a team after a rough second quarter,” Blazquez said.