Windermere makes final with help from Stewart
Standout junior forward Sean Stewart poured in 31 points Wednesday night to lead Windermere to a 60-41 semifinal victory against Miami Doral Academy in the Jim Haley Christmas Classic at Trinity Catholic in Ocala.
Apopka (10-1) played Miami Mater Lakes Academy (6-4) in the late semifinal, with the winner set to face Windermere (10-1) for the championship of the 16-team tournament on Thursday night at 8.
Central Pointe Christian Academy (15-4) of Kissimmee built a 20-point halftime lead and won 71-58 against Bartow (7-3) in a consolation-bracket game. The White Tigers play Berkeley Prep (4-2) of Tampa on Thursday.
DP finishes strong
Dr. Phillips overcame a sluggish start to defeat North Carolina’s all-classes No. 1 team, Greensboro Day, 48-34 in the consolation-bracket championship game.
The Panthers (7-2) led by just 32-31 with 5:29 to go in the game but closed the game with a 16-3 run highlighted by a vicious Riley Kugel dunk.
Ernest Udeh Jr., DP’s 6-foot-10 Kansas signee, had 17 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Kugel
and Jordan Tillery each added 9 points.
The Panthers limited the Bengals (16-3) to 27.5% shooting to complete a 3-1 tournament showing. DP’s loss was 63-62 to Arkansas No. 1 North Little Rock.
Montverde Academy (8-2) played one of its National Interscholastic Basketball Conference rivals, Oak Hill Academy (13-5) of Virginia, in Wednesday night’s championship game.
The Eagles are ranked third nationally in the Fab 50 behind the two teams they lost one-point games against, Duncanville, Texas (13-0) and IMG Academy (9-2) of Bradenton, which lost a City of Palms semifinal
to Oak Hill on Tuesday before winning Wednesday’s third place game.
Montverde gets another shot at IMG on Jan. 17 as it plays two games at the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Jones, Leesburg shine
Jones wrapped up a 3-0 showing at the Florida Classic in Daytona Beach with a 67-35 victory against Winter Haven All Saints (1-7). The Tigers improved to 8-4.
Leesburg (6-3) also went 3-0 in the three-day showcase at Mainland High School. The Yellow Jackets beat North Marion 58-25 on
Wednesday.
Seminole slips in semi
Sanford Seminole saw its six-game winning streak end with a 83-60 loss to tournament host Fleming Island in a semifinal game in the Battle on the Island tournament. The Golden Eagles improved to 13-0.
The Seminoles (7-3) will play in the third-place game on Thursday at 5:15 p.m.