Olympia snaps OCP streak at 48 straight

Win in quarterfinal of Rotary Tip-Off program milestone

Olympia’s boys basketball victory against No. 1 ranked Orlando Christian Prep on Wednesday night will long be remembered as the performance that snapped the Warriors’ 48-game win streak, an Orlando-area record.

But as Titans coach Rob Gordon saw it, the scintillating 50-48 victory in a Rotary Tip-Off Classic quarterfinal game at Winter Park High School was momentous because it marked a milestone for his program, which came close to competing for a Class 7A state title last season but fell short.

“Last year we were right there a number of times in big games against really good teams and didn’t quite get it done,” Gordon said while Olympia’s players and fans celebrated the conquest. He mentioned a season-opening 3-point loss to Oak Ridge, which reached the 7A final four, and three close losses against 7A state champ Dr. Phillips.

“We were one play away in how many games? Tonight, our guys made sure we weren’t one play away. To be able to get it done against a team of that high a level . ... That’s special. It means so much to these kids. They’ve seen the growth of this program.”

Olympia’s poised and polished junior guard E.J. “Jizzle” James, son of former NFL running back Edgerrin James, scored 20 points and handled OCP’s trademark defensive focus with virtually no mistakes.

Josh Meo, a senior guard, added 15 points — all on 3-point shots — as the Titans improved to 2-0. Olympia made 10 3s, with James knocking down three, and the Titans more than matched OCP’s intensity with their defense and rebounding.

“It puts us on the map,” James said of the victory. “Shows we can compete at any level. We executed, we played hard, we stuck to our script.”

Two-time defending Class 2A state champ OCP, which sat atop the Sentinel Super 16 Orlando area rankings and was No. 23 in this week’s Fab 50 national rankings, dropped to 1-1 after seeing its spirited comeback effort fail in the closing minutes.

Olympia took a 49-37 lead midway through the fourth quarter with a 21-7 run that included two 3s by Meo, two by James and another by senior guard

Dillon Lytus. OCP rallied with Ohio University signee A.J. Brown scoring 9 of his 16 points in the final four minutes.

Consecutive 3s by Brown pulled the Warriors to 49-48 but a potential go-ahead inside shot by OCP’s Ven-Allen Lubin, a 6-foot-8 Notre Dame signee, was blocked by Olympia’s Kevins Charles. After Charles made 1-of-2 free throws, the Warriors turned the ball over as the time expired.

Lubin finished with 18 points.

“Their older guys made some big plays,” OCP coach Treig Burke said.

Asked about the end of the three-year winning streak, which included a 27-0 record last season, Burke said: “Maybe we can start another one.”

OCP’s loss means Orlando’s two defending state champions, both projected to be stronger this season, have suffered defeats against local opponents. Dr. Phillips (1-1) lost 61-60 against Lake Highland Prep in its second outing last week.

DP faces another challenge when it hosts Miami Riviera Prep, No. 1 in 3A preseason rankings by SourceHoops, on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Olympia, No. 4 in the Super 16, will play a Friday 6:30 semifinal against underdog Boone (1-2).

Boone, with four football players added to its roster, avenged a week-old loss to Daytona Beach Mainland by posting a 41-27 victory in the opening game of the tournament. The Braves held the Buccaneers scoreless in the first quarter.