Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Boys basketball
Calvary Christian and Westminster Academy win their state semifinal games in Lakeland.
LAKELAND — To say Calvary Christian’s defense was suffocating Wednesday might be an understatement.
Calvary used its superior size to overwhelm Marianna in the Florida Class 5A boys basketball semifinals at the Lakeland Center. The 39-20 win puts the Eagles into their first state championship game in program history.
Calvary held Marianna to 5-of-45 shooting from the field and 4-of-27 on 3-point attempts.
“That’s been our staple all year,” Calvary coach Cilk McSweeney said of his defense. “We knew it would get us to the championship game and possibly win it Saturday because of the way we defend.”
Calvary (23-6) will play Tampa Catholic (25-5) — 92-67 winners over Villages behind 40 points from senior forward Kevin Knox — in the title game at 10 a.m. Saturday.
The 20 total points scored by Marianna (24-4) are the fewest allowed by a Broward County program in a postseason game since Fort Lauderdale gave up just 17 against St. Pete in 1932.
The 39 total points were also a season low for Calvary. The Eagles went 9-for-23 from the free-throw line Wednesday.
Senior 7-foot center Victor Uyaelunmo led Calvary offensively. The Southern Cal signee just missed a double-double with 9 points and 15 rebounds.
“We put in a lot of hard work this week,” Uyaelunmo said. “But it feels awesome to be playing Saturday in the state championship game.”
Senior guard Jerald Butler, who will play at Butler University next year, and junior forward Solomon Uyaelunmo (nine rebounds) both had 6 points for Calvary.
Lions to face Jacksonville team
Westminster Academy made it all the way to the Class 3A state championship game a season ago but fell in the title game to Windermere Prep.
This year the goal was not just to get back to the Lakeland Center, but to finish with a state championship. On Wednesday, the Lions moved one step closer to their goal with a 58-45 victory over Seffner Christian in a FHSAA Class 4A semifinal.
Westminster (28-4) will play Jacksonville Providence (24-5) — 67-48 winners over Miami Archbishop Carroll in the other semi — for the title at 8 p.m. Friday.
“We played everyone [this season],” Westminster coach Ehren Wallhoff said of the preparation that went into the title run. “We played Providence earlier in the year and beat them by 2 at our place. So our goal has been to get back here and win it.”
Westminster has one state title, from 2002, in program history.
Senior center Paul Atkinson led Westminster, just missing a triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks.
The 6-foot-10 Yale signee made 10 of 13 shots from the floor.
Westminster led 12-8 after one quarter, 25-22 at the half and 43-33 going to the final quarter. The Lions’ biggest lead was 56-39.
Sophomore guard Chase Johnston added 15 points for Westminster and Strong, who has signed with Northeastern, had 10 points and six rebounds.