Windermere Prep stuns No. 1 Providence in semi
LAKELAND — Windermere Prep is only No. 11 in the FHSAA’s Class 3A boys basketball power rankings. But when a title is on the line the youthful Lakers have time and again shown how good they can be.
They rose to the occasion as a heavy underdog in their biggest game Wednesday morning, scoring a 55-43 victory against No. 1-ranked Providence School of Jacksonville in a state semifinal at RP Funding Center.
The Lakers (24-7) stifled the Stallions (28-3) defensively and got double-figure scoring from junior Chandler Watts, senior Aiden Fletcher and 15-year-old ninth grade standouts Brandon Bass Jr. and Sinan Huan.
“That was the best team we played all year,” Windermere Prep coach Brian Hoff said. “We knew what we were up against. We never wavered. We never doubted we would win. We answered the bell.”
Windermere Prep was down 9-5 early but tied it when Huan scored off an offensive rebound and Watts scored on an assist from Mason Williams. A 3-pointer by Bass and driving basket by Watts gave the Lakers a 14-12 lead after one quarter. They led 28-25 at the half and 38-34 going into the final quarter.
The Lakers will return to Lakeland on Friday and vie for the program’s second state championship on Saturday morning at 10. They will face second-ranked Miami Riviera Prep (26-6), which won 68-67 against No. 5 Tampa Catholic (19-11) on a basket by Myles Fuentes in the final seconds.
Windermere Prep had a big following for the semifinal. Classes were canceled for middle and high schoolers, and six school buses transported students to the game.
Hoff said his team has consistently played its best basketball in games with championship ramifications.
The Lakers won their own Windermere Prep Holiday Classic, the Battle at the Villages holiday tournament in December and the Citrus League championship game against Lake Highland Prep in January. They added victories in their district and regional
tournaments to get to the FHSAA final four.
But decisively beating Providence, a perennial power, was not expected by anybody outside of Windermere Prep.
Windermere Prep held Providence to 34.8% shooting (16 of 46) and outrebounded the favorites 36-29.
“I feel like we’re a team and they’re a team. It doesn’t matter how old we are,” Bass said after scoring 12 against a defense that was designed to limit his opportunities.
Providence had a player face-guarding Bass, Windermere Prep’s leading scorer (17 ppg), for most of the game but that opened the door for his teammates.
Watts, a 6-foot-5 forward, took charge in the first quarter with 9 points and a blocked shot. He finished with game highs for points (15), rebounds (10) and steals (3).
Huan, a 7-footer from China, contributed 11 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 assists. And the stat sheet can’t show all of the Providence shot attempts he disrupted.
The big left-hander was left alone and swished a 3 to open fourth-quarter scoring. The Lakers’ lead swelled to 43-34 when senior guard Aiden Fletcher, who had 10 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, penetrated and dished a bounce pass to Huan for a reverse dunk with 6:46 to go.
Providence closed that gap to 43-40 but had nine missed shots and two turnovers in the final 4:30.
“We have a lot of really good defensive players,” Hoff said.