MVP Scott leads Blanche Ely to title
Joshua Scott wanted to end his high school career with a Big 8 title. The 6-foot-5 Blanche Ely forward had gone without one — until Saturday.
Scott, a senior, led the Tigers with 21 points and was named the tournament’s most valuable player as Blanche Ely (18-6) held on to beat rival Dillard (17-5), 67-64, at Fort Lauderdale High.
“It was really important, and that’s one of our biggest rivals,” Scott said. “This is my first time winning Big 8 for all my four years, so it was very important to me. First time since 2015 [for Ely], so it’s really important.”
Ely and Dillard have Big 8 history together. The two programs, which have combined for 12 Big 8 titles, have faced each other five times in the championship game. With Saturday’s win, the Tigers are now 2-3 against the Panthers in Big 8 title games.
“I know it’s going to be a dogfight to the end,” Blanche Ely coach Melvin Randall said, “and we came out on top.”
The two teams traded leads throughout the game. Dillard took an early lead in the first quarter, but a pair of threes by Lamont Evans IV gave Ely a onepoint lead at the end of the first quarter. Led by guard Deshawn Bartley, who led Dillard with 23 points, the Panthers came right back and took an eight-point lead into halftime.
Ely took the lead again in the third quarter and went into the fourth up four points, but Dillard fought until the final buzzer. The lead changed hands four times in the final quarter, but Scott put the Tigers ahead for the final time with a three-pointer with 1:37 left in the fourth quarter.
Scott knocked down four free throws in the game’s final two minutes — two of which came after a foul call that upset the Dillard bench — to help seal the game, and Francois, who finished the game with 15 points, knocked down two.
Ely has won 11 straight contests going into the postseason, which begins with the district tournament on Tuesday.