Thompson twins lead Pine Crest to win over Astronaut in state semis

The Thompson twins put on a show in Lakeland on Thursday.

Pine Crest juniors Amen and Ausar Thompson scored a total of 45 points, brought in 11 rebounds and had 13 assists as the Panthers beat Titusville Astronaut 68-47 in the Class 4A boys basketball state semifinals at the RP Funding Center.

“They’re twins, they’ve been with each other forever,” Pine Crest coach Ike Smith said. “They know how to play off of each other and they go at it.”

Ausar Thompson took over the game early, scoring 15 of Pine Crest’s first 16 points. Amen Thompson had a strong second half, scoring 12 of his 18 points in the final 16 minutes.

Ausar Thompson finished the game with a game-best 27 points, along with five assists and four rebounds, while Amen had 18 points, seven rebounds and eight assists.

“You’ve got two smart kids on the court,” Smith said. “Just let them play. The more freedom you give them, the better they’re going to play for you. You can always pull them back, but if you give them the freedom and they’re performing like they’re performing, why mess with it? I just sit there and enjoy it.”

The War Eagles stayed close to the Panthers in the first quarter, but Pine Crest pulled away by outscoring Astronaut 19-9 in the second quarter. The Panthers nearly matched that again in the third quarter, outscoring the War Eagles 19-11. They were able to cruise to a win from that point.

Pine Crest dominated Astronaut near the basket, outscoring the War Eagles 50-10 in the paint. The Panthers also scored 25 points off of turnovers, while Astronaut scored only six.

Pine Crest will face Alachua Santa Fe in the state title game on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Santa Fe beat Callahan West Nassau 64-63 on Thursday morning.

“Anybody that’s up here is dangerous,” Smith said. “I put it like that: Anybody that’s up here can beat you any given day.

“We’ve just got to go and play the same way we’ve been playing all year. We’re 20-1, and we’ve just got to play like we’ve been playing all year.”

MICHAEL LAUGHLIN/SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL Pine Crest’s Ausar Thompson passes the ball around Chaminade-Madonna’s Robert McLogan during the second half of their game on Jan. 22, 2019. Thompson and his brother, Amen, led Pine Crest to a win over Titusville Astronaut on Thursday in the Class 4A state semifinals.