Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Tigers are vying for state championship
LAKELAND — After a one-year hiatus away from Lakeland, Blanche Ely is back to playing for the state crown.
Michael Forrest, Anthony Byrd and Joshua Scott combined for 66 points and the Tigers topped St. Petersburg 73-58, despite 36 from Ole Miss-signed guard Serrel Smith, in a Class 8A state semifinal on Friday at RP Funding Center.
Ely coach Melvin Randall could retake sole possession of the state record for titles as a coach when the Tigers (23-8) take on Creekside in the championship game at 4:30 p.m. on today. Randall, currently tied with Dillard’s Darryl Burrows with seven (five at Ely and two at Deerfield Beach), improves his state final-four record to 15-1. He enters 7-0 in championship games.
“I’ve got to win tomorrow,” Randall said. “We’re very competitive. I’d like to be one-up and be the leading coach with state titles.”
Ely could also tie Dillard’s Broward County-best seven championships with a win.
Byrd and Scott got to the freethrow line consistently, combining to go 21-for-26 on foul shots. Scott, a junior forward, led the Tigers with 26 on an efficient 8-of-9 from the floor.
“It’s just my coaches telling me to be aggressive. They’ve been telling me that the whole season, so I took advantage of it,” said Scott, who along with Randall were surprised to learn his point total postgame. “Twenty-six – I didn’t know I had 26.”
Byrd, a senior guard, completed a four-point play, fouled on a 3-pointer in the corner, that put Ely up 16 midway through the fourth and essentially put the game away.
“It felt great, and it really brought more energy to our team,” Byrd said. “My teammates trusted in me and they gave me the open pass. I knocked it down for them.
Forrest, who Ely has leaned on for scoring through much of its run this season, finished with 18.
“It meant a lot to me knowing that I could give them the ball without having to waste all my energy,” the senior guard said. “I can pass them the ball and trust that they’re going to do good with the ball.”
Smith kept St. Pete (24-6) in it by scoring every which way he could. Ely was able to hold senior guard Tai Strickland, the son of former NBA point guard Rod Strickland, to 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting.
The Tigers went on a 12-0 run late in the first half and went into halftime leading 29-25. Their defense clamped down to hold the Green Devils scoreless for a 4:10 stretch, more than half of the second quarter.
Ely, after starting slow, also had an 11-2 run toward the end of the first quarter. The two teams were tied at 15 after one.
Before missing out on states last year, falling to Palm Beach Lakes in regional semifinals, Ely had won state titles in four of the previous five seasons. The Tigers’ also won in 2007 under Randall and their first championship came in 1993 under Wade Edmond.