Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Williams’ fast start helps Wellington roll by Miramar
LAKELAND — Bryan Williams may not be Trent Frazier, but he was Frazieresque in the early going of the state semifinal to set the tone in leading Wellington back to the championship game for the first time in three years.
Williams scored 18 of his 25 points in the first half as the Wolverines refused to fall in the same game that halted their playoff run last season and ended the stellar high school career of Frazier, now a freshman at Illinois.
In a Broward vs. Palm Beach Class 9A semifinal, Wellington downed Miramar 75-60 at RP Funding Center on Friday night.
The Wolverines remain unbeaten (31-0) and move on to a 7 p.m. state championship game against Oak Ridge, which took down West Orange 86-64 in the earlier semifinal Friday night.
Miramar (27-4), which had a 13-game win streak snapped, had a breakthrough season that resulted in just the school’s second state appearance.
Wellington coach Matt Colin likened Williams’ hot start to what he used to get from Frazier.
“He did have a moment like that,” said Colin of Williams, who entered averaging 17.8 points per game. “He’s filled that [Frazier] role for us this year – that shooter/scorer. He’s been doing that all season long.”
Williams said it was more about redeeming himself from last year’s semifinal.
“I just tried to play my game. Me and Trent have totally different games,” said Williams, who shot 8-of-11 from the field and 8-for-9 on free throws. “Last year, I only had 10 points, so I had to come out hot this year.”
After Williams lifted Wellington in the first half, the guys around him got it going in a third quarter where the Wolverines distanced themselves. Jon Philistin and Linton Brown combined for 13 in the period as Wellington went on a 14-1 run from late in the third to early in the fourth.
“We just went into the locker room, talked. We didn’t want to lose, so we just pushed each other,” said Brown, who finished with 20.
Philistin added 16. Senior point guard Nico Toledo collected nine assists and his ball handling was instrumental in breaking Miramar’s press and half-court traps.
Wellington started Friday on a 9-0 run, but Miramar worked back into it later in the first quarter. Williams already had 11 as the Wolverines led 16-12 after the first period.
The Wolverines led by as many as 10 three different times in the first half. Jamir Moore hit a 3-pointer for Miramar in the final seconds of the first half to cut the Patriots deficit to 31-24 going into intermission.
Miramar had its second state appearance end in semifinals. In 2011, the Patriots’ only other time in Lakeland, they also fell right before the final. Damian Miller scored 16 points for the Patriots and Immanuel Crump added 11.
Wellington’s one basketball title came in 2015 when Frazier, then a sophomore, sank the winning free throw with 0.4 seconds on the clock.