OCP dominates; Oak Ridge ousts Lake Worth
Orlando Christian Prep has one of the few high school boys basketball teams that can score on eight consecutive possessions to break a game open and have you walking out of the gym thinking mostly about how good their team defense is.
That was the feeling Tuesday night as the No. 1 team in the FHSAA Class 2A rankings dismantled visiting Mount Dora Christian 63-33 in a Region 2 semifinal game.
The Warriors (23-2) held the Bulldogs (22-7) to 11 baskets, 26% shooting and half the 66.6 points per game they had been averaging.
“Defense is what wins championships and that’s what coach preaches,” said Isaiah Brown, a 6—foot-4 junior who led the Warriors with 17 points. Nine players scored for OCP, including 6-6 Isaiah Sutherland (12 points), whose in-season progression has provided a boost for a young lineup.
Brown opened the scoring with a dunk and scored the first 10 points of the game but OCP’s halftime lead was just 24-15. The game turned into a blowout when Brown ignited another scoring spree with a dunk and a 3-pointer following one of 15 turnovers the Warriors forced. Guards Hunter Johnson and Ameer Ramadan capped OCP’s 20-0 run with 3s that extended the lead to 44-15 in a third quarter in which Mount Dora Christian had zero baskets.
The Warriors will host Friday night’s region final against Victory Christian (25-5) of Lakeland, which pulled out a 74-72 win against Central Florida Christian Academy (18-11). Eduardo Placer completed his prolific high school career with 26 points in CFCA’s loss.
Mount Dora Christian enjoyed its sixth consecutive 20-win season. But the Bulldogs have been knocked out of the playoffs three times by OCP and twice more by CFCA in that span. — Buddy Collings
Oak Ridge pulls upset
Sophomore point guard Jalen Reece delivered 24 points, 7 assists and 6 steals to lead Oak Ridge to a 79-64 road win against the No. 4 team in Class 7A, Lake Worth.
Jordan Tillery, a junior, added 20 points and 6 rebounds.
The Trojans were 22-1 entering the game.
The Pioneers (17-10), ranked fifth, will be home Friday against No. 7 Windermere (21-7), which flipped the other side of the bracket upside down with its 66-51 win at No. 3 Olympia (26-3).
“Everybody had Lake Worth winning the region and it was an unbelievable environment down there,” Oak Ridge coach Steve Reece said as his team traveled back to Orlando. “The schedule we played all year prepared us for this. I couldn’t be more proud of the way our boys battled defensively and took care of the ball against their pressure.”
Wekiva routs Viera
Malachi Hampton scored 24 points and Wekiva, No. 3 in the FHSAA 6A power rankings, routed visiting Viera 66-32.
The Mustangs (25-4), who were missing Hampton when they lost their district final, will host the 6A-2 final against Lakeland (24-4), which won 65-53 against visiting Edgewater (17-11).
Evans stops Hagerty
Hagerty came in on a roll and started fast, but host Evans put the brakes on and topped the Huskies 65-49 in 7A Region 1.
Sophomore guard Arosco “Tre” Dubois had 4 made 3-pointers and totaled 17 points for the Trojans (17-10).
Hagerty (23-6) had won 13 of its previous 14 games and jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Evans (17-10) answered with its own 12-point run. The Trojans led 30-23 at the half and outscored the Huskies 19-4 in the third quarter.
“Defensively, they responded,” Evans coach Lonza Morgan said of his team. “That’s all we preached about this week.”
Andrew Broome scored 15 points and freshman Asa Kohn had 3 made 3s for the Huskies. Dawson Barr had 10 points but fouled out with 5:16 to go.
As the No. 2 seed, Evans will travel across town to play Colonial in Friday night’s region final. —Nate Marrero
Colonial sets record
Top seed Colonial made history by avenging a one-point regular season loss with a 63-51 homecourt win against Lake Brantley.
It marked the first time in its 65 years that the east Orlando school has achieved two regional wins to reach the elite eight.
The Grenadiers (23-6) handled Brantley’s vaunted 1-3-1 zone defense more effectively in the rematch, delivering 15 assists on 20 made baskets.
“[Legendary Indiana University coach] Bobby Knight once said, ‘Preparation is the key to victory,’ and we were prepared tonight for their defense,” Colonial coach Gary McDaniel said.
Emmanuel Rislin led the Grenadiers with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists, Jorge Adorno had 15 points and Stitch Timo grabbed 10 rebounds.
Eric Vandendriessche led the Patriots (20-9) with 19 points. — Steve Gorches
Jones wins thriller
Reigning region champ Jones dug itself out of an early hole and pulled out a dramatic 51-49 home win against Leesburg in 5A-2.
Junior guard Calvin Liptrot won the game with a 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds to go.
“He was due for a big shot,” Jones coach Travis Aikens said. “I told him, ‘Man, just stay on course man, stay focused. You’re gonna hit a big shot,’andobviouslyhehitabigshot.”
The Tigers (15-11) struggled to score early and trailed by 10 at halftime. They came alive in the third quarter, outscoring the Yellow Jackets 23-11. Even with that comeback Jones needed more heroics to prevail.
Jones was down 1 with less than 10 seconds to go and turned the ball. The Tigers forced Leesburg (13-13) to turn it over, setting up Liptrot’s winning shot.
Telario Pringle, a junior, led Jones with 16 points. Omari Henry, a junior, scored all of his 12 points in the second half and senior Jamari Sands scored all of his 7 after the break.
Jones will look to defend its region title and return to next week’s state tournament when it hosts Tampa Jesuit (23-6) on Friday night. The Tigers edged Auburndale 42-41. — Jonathan
Alfano
Lakers cruise
Windermere Prep used a quick start and defense to dominate its 63-35 win against Benjamin (16-11) of Palm Beach in a 3A-2 home game.
Ninth-grader Brandon Boss made 4 3s and scored 20 points for the top seed Lakers (22-7), who led 11-0 at the start. Chandler Watts added 18 points and Aiden Fletcher scored 15.
Benjamin was held to 18 points through three quarters.
Top seed Windermere Prep stays home for Friday’s region final against King’s Academy (27-1) of West Palm Beach.
In 3A Region 1, No. 1 ranked Providence (27-2) cruised to a 67-27 win against The Master’s Academy (22-7) in Jacksonville. — Rick Staudt