Western routs Columbus to earn spot in state semifinals

Western’s bid for a berth in the 2020 state Final Four ended on a last-second basket by eventual state champion Miramar. On Monday, the Wildcats ensured no late heroics would deny them their first trip to Lakeland.

Western dominated Miami Columbus in the Class 7A regional finals, putting a running clock on the Explorers en route to a 74-46 victory in Davie.

The Wildcats’ win earned the program its first appearance in the state semifinals.

“Last year, I had to just squeeze the guys off the floor,” Western coach Mike Hardy said.

“Everybody was down. Everybody was crying. It was a tough loss. I told them if you don’t want that feeling again, we’ve got to get here, we’ve got to win.”

The Wildcats did trail for a brief moment in the first quarter, going down 3-2. That did not last long, as Western ended the first quarter up, 18-9. A solid second quarter followed, and the Wildcats went into halftime with a sizable 40-22 lead.

Senior Gary Adam put an exclamation point on that lead, going on his own 9-0 run in the third quarter. He extended the Wildcats’ lead to, 49-26. Adam finished the game with a team-leading 21 points.

“They were playing fullcourt man, and I feel like I can beat anybody off the dribble,” Adam said.

Adam was part of a well-balanced Western offense. Senior Kamdyn Ayers added 12 points, and junior Julian Lewis had 10 points.

Western will face Dwyer in the Class 7A state semifinals on Friday at 2:30 in the RP Funding Center.

The Wildcats will be facing the Panthers on shorter rest, as Dwyer punched its ticket to Lakeland last Friday.

“No excuses,” If you want to go up there and compete, you’ve just got to be ready. I’m sure that’s how we’re going to be. I’ve got a day or two to kind of prepare, watch film on those guys and see their weaknesses and see if we can exploit them. We’re going to be ready. We’re going to go give it all we’ve got.”