Hurricanes unable to produce needed surge in 4th quarter

DORAL — It was all set up like last year when Zach Gillion was coaching the Northeast girls instead of the boys — the Hurricanes were playing at Doral Academy on a Saturday with a spot in the state final four on the line.

All the same — except the result. While last year Gillion led the Northeast girls to a second consecutive state appearance, the run in his first year at the helm for the boys ended in the Region 4-7A final, falling to Doral, 56-50.

The playoff game was played Saturday night while the other regional finals were Friday to accommodate Gillion, who as a member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, observes the Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.

Doral, which will make its first appearance at state, started fast, opening with a, 12-2, lead. Northeast battled back, but early in the second quarter, Doral got the lead back up to 15 and would not relinquish it.

“They ran their offense to perfection,” Gillion said. “Late down the stretch, they were poised. Kudos to them and their coaching staff.

“I’m happy that we got here, but I’m upset that it ended like this.”

The Hurricanes crept to within four in the fourth quarter, but any time they got close, senior Miguel Ayesa was there with one of his five 3-pointers. Junior Jonathan Nunez led the Firebirds (30-2) with 20 while Ayesa added 19.

Ricardo Jackson led Northeast (20-8) with 20 points, Jeremiah Saunders scored 10 and Elie Cadet pitched in eight.

Northeast’s late surge this season helped it reach a regional final for just the second time in its history — the Hurricanes’ lone state appearance was in 1985. They won district tournament games against Dillard and Boyd Anderson to win the District 14-7A title after going 0-4 in the regular season against their two rivals. Northeast took down Boyd Anderson again in the second regional round to reach Saturday’s regional final.

Had Northeast advanced to states, the semifinal would’ve been on Friday afternoon and the final on Saturday would’ve conflicted with when Gillion observes the Sabbath. An FHSAA spokesperson said a plan would’ve been in place to accommodate Gillion — like last year when he coached the girls and lost in a state semifinal. Two years ago, Gillion missed the title game that was not rescheduled for him.