Hot-shooting Cypress Bay boys breeze past district rival Western

Cypress Bay struck from long range early and then drove past Western defenders at will Tuesday in earning a 64-50 Class 9A boys basketball regional semifinal victory over their rival.

The Lightning canned four 3-pointers in the first 5 minutes and 10 seconds of the game to jump out to a 24-10 advantage and never looked back. Cypress Bay led by seven after one quarter, by 11 at the half, 53-34 going to the fourth quarter and 62-38 with 2 minutes remaining.

“Rival games are tough and having to beat them three times in a row was a challenge,” Cypress Bay coach Jason Looky said. “But I just told the boys inside: this is the farthest we’ve ever went. Sometimes you just find a way and I personally think this is one of the best games that a Cypress Bay team has ever played.”

Cypress Bay (19-6), which went 3-1 versus Western this season, will play host to perennial Palm Beach County powerhouse Wellington in a 9A regional final Friday with a trip to the Boys State Basketball Tournament on the line.

Wellington took out Jupiter 60-51 to stay alive.

Sophomore Tristan Goldstein connected on 6 of 7 shots from the field, including three huge first-quarter 3-pointers, to lead the Lightning with 19 points. Senior guard Tyler Krivitzkin -- 5 for 10 from the field -- added 18 points and junior guard Isaiah Quinteros had 16.

— Pat Lammer Wellington sweeps past Jupiter in 9A semi: For the fourth time this season, Wellington made enough plays to come away with another statement victory against Jupiter. Senior forward Linton Brown scored a game-high 30 points and the host Wolverines rallied in the second half to defeat the Warriors 60-51 in a Class 9A regional semifinal.

Wellington (23-6), which reached the state championship game last season, advanced to the Class 9A regional final and will play at Cypress Bay on Friday.

The Wolverines also won all three prior meetings during the season, including a 50-42 victory against the Warriors in the District 9-9A championship game.

The Wolverines erased a 10-point first-half deficit and took control of the game in the fourth quarter.

— Alex Kushel Scott, Blanche Ely rally past Forest Hill in 8A: Blanche Ely opened the second half on an 18-8 run and Joshua Scott scored a gamehigh 20 points as the Tigers won their 15th consecutive game with a 75-67 win over visiting Forest Hill in an 8A boys basketball regional semifinal in Pompano Beach.

“It’s very impressive,” said Tigers coach Melvin Randall of the winning streak, “but we want to make it 18 in a row [meaning three more wins for a state title].”

Trailing 20-19 early in the second quarter as a result of too many turnovers, Blanche Ely rattled off six quick points to take a five point lead, a lead the Tigers would never relinquish.

“We played together. We got a little rattled in the beginning with turnovers,” said Randall. “After we calmed down, we started playing Tiger basketball.”

Leading 36-32 at halftime, Blanche Ely (22-6) pushed their lead to 14 as Scott scored the first seven points of the third quarter for the Tigers and Aderes StatonMcCray added five of his 19 points during the decisive run, including a one-handed dunk that made the home fans erupt.

Forest Hill (25-4) increased the defensive pressure on the Tigers and the Falcons were able to cut the lead to 67-63 on a 3-pointer by D’ante Daniels with just 49 seconds to play.

However, Blanche Ely made six free throws in the final 18 seconds to seal the win and a matchup against Mater Academy in the regional final on Friday.

— Steve Evans Stranahan’s 34-7 midgame run buries Suncoast in 6A: Sparked by a 17-5 run to close out the first half and a 17-2 run to open the second half, Stranahan ran away from visiting Suncoast 62-45 in Fort Lauderdale.

Stranahan (24-5) advances to the Class 6A Region 4 final and is one win away against visiting Eustis on Friday from reaching the state final four.

Dave Herard led a balanced attack with 15 points while Daquion Vickers and Inady Legiste each added 13 points.

Suncoast (17-12) was in foul trouble all night, finishing with 31 team fouls, and had three players foul out.

— J. Darin Darst Carey carries University School in 5A: Vernon Carey Jr. celebrated his 18th birthday in style and gifted host University School a 68-56 victory over ChaminadeMadonna in the Class 5A boys regional basketball semifinal at the Noel Brown Sports Center in Davie.

Carey finished the game with 25 points and 12 rebounds just one day after his birthday and lifted the defending Class 5A state champion to their ninth straight win and the regional final where they will travel to face Westminster Christian on Friday.

“I just felt like we came together in the second half,” said Carey, who is closing in on 2,500 points for his high school career. He is 27 points shy. “We started to pick up the intensity. I just feel that our over pressure in the second half was good.”

Chaminade-Madonna (21-7), which was blown out in the district final by the Sharks, 70-32 on Feb. 16, nearly scored that many points in the first half of Tuesday’s regional semifinal contest.

“We just had to come play tonight,” said Lions coach Andre Torres. “There was no special game-planning. We got the ball inside and got what we wanted. They put us into some foul trouble. They don’t need help. They are good enough and they got us tonight.”

After University School (24-4) opened the game on a 5-0 run, the Lions clawed back and forged a 14-11 firstquarter lead on a basket by Johnny O’Neil. The game see-sawed back and forth with neither team able to grab more than a three-point

lead and the teams went into the locker room at halftime tied at 30-30.

Carey Jr. failed to score in the first quarter, but erupted for 12 in the second, including a dunk to keep the Sharks in the game. The Sharks came out firing in the

second half, raining 3-point attempts and connected on two of their first five tries to take a 40-34 lead. Carey Jr. also had 12 points in the final period.

— Gary Curreri