Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Rapper Kodak Black surprises fans, teams
PARKLAND – Shortly before halftime, the entire Marjory Stoneman Douglas student section started yelling. Not because of anything happening on the court, but because local rapper Kodak Black had just walked in on the opposite side of the gym.
While the game was still going on, many students streamed around the edge of the court to take pictures with Black, who grew up in Pompano Beach.
After Black showed up, both the Deerfield Beach (13-4) and Stoneman Douglas (6-6) offenses perked up from a lethargic start, and the Bucks won a close one, 43-41.
“It’s pretty crazy because that’s the first time I’ve ever seen him,” Deerfield senior Victor Robinson said. “It’s pretty wild. But it was great to see him.”
Black only stayed at the game for a few minutes before halftime, and missed the close finish.
The two teams were in a defensive battle all night, so when the Eagles took a 41-40 lead with 3:34 left in the fourth quarter, it looked like that could potentially be the final score. But the Bucks remained collected even as they struggled to score in the game’s final minutes.
“I knew we were going to win,” Faizon Francis said. “We practice hard every day, so we deserved the win.”
Francis, who led the Bucks with 13 points, helped secure the victory. Senior guard Michael Johnson gave Deerfield a one-point lead by hitting a pair of free throws with 19.5 seconds left, and Francis put the final nail in the coffin with one more free throw.
The win keeps the Bucks atop District 11-9A with a perfect in-district record.
“We’re about where I expected,” coach Kenny Brown said. “We started a little slow; in my eyes, we started slow. We started out, 9-0. We played tough games in the tournament, which kind of set us up, and I try to do it that way so we’re set for the whole season. At the end of the day, this is all practice for the playoffs.”