Columbus, Riviera and Stranahan advance to state
Cayden Boozer and Kevin Noriega rode a beautiful inside-outside offense to send Columbus to state with a Region
4-7A final win over Cypress Bay on Friday at FIU’s Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
Boozer sliced through traffic to total a game-high 17 points in the 61-47 victory. Noriega swished a trio of treys en route to a dozen for the Explorers (27-2).
“We were trying to play how they wanted to play at the beginning of the game, then at halftime we decided to be ourselves,” Boozer said.
The Explorers head to the state semifinals for the first time since 2011 in their quest for the school’s first boys basketball title. They’ll face Lake Worth at 2:30 p.m. Friday at The RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
“I was just letting it fly,” Noriega said. “There wasn’t even a thought.
Got it. Let it fly.”
Noah Kattan scored 10 of his 16 points through the first two quarters to lead Cypress Bay (23-6).
“They did a good job in the first half,” Columbus coach Andrew Moran said. “We talked to our guys in the second and they listened to the play calls, because it was hard to hear. Our guys played great in the end. It was a tough-it-out game.”
Junior guard Garyn Bess scored 11 points in the win. Cameron Boozer totaled eight for the Explorers. Senior guard Maxwell Gordon scored 13 for the Lightning.
Region 4-3A final — Riviera Prep 77, Westminster Academy 64: There may not have been a trophy on hand, but you would have been hardpressed to guess that based on Riviera Prep’s joyous celebrations.
Riviera Prep advanced to the state final four for the second time after holding off a furious fourth quarter comeback attempt from Westminster Academy that included three buzzer-beaters and a fan ejection.
The Bulldogs (23-7), who will play Melbourne Holy Trinity Episcopal on Wednesday at 4 p.m. in a Class 3A state semifinal, were cruising to the finish line, but endured a nervy finish after going ice cold in the final period. Riviera scored just three points in the fourth while the Lions (22-7) put up 25, which brought the home team as close as nine points.
“We were playing a hell of a team and at some point they were going to fight back and give us their best punch,” Riviera Prep coach Anthony Shahbaz said. “They did that, but we were able to withstand it and move forward and finish the game. Not how I wanted, but at this point it is a win and advance.”
Fueled by a game-high 26 points from senior guard Esteban Lluberes, Riviera was comfortably ahead 61-39 through three quarters. Lluberes scored 12 points from beyond the arc, including a deep buzzer beater at the end of the first quarter.
Some red-hot fourth quarter shooting from freshman Westminster guard Alex Lloyd brought the Lions within reach, however, as he scored 14 of their 25 points in the final quarter.
Lloyd finished with a team-high 23 points on the night while center Jaylen Curry, who was in tears before and the after the game, added 22.
Region 4-5A final — Stranahan 56, Norland 43: Senior guard/forward Houston Culpepper scored 14 and Darrin Garrett added 13 to lead the Dragons, who improved to 12-0 at home this season.
“[Culpepper] was focused all week in practice,” said Stranahan coach Edward Schuler. “He wanted this bad. We never trailed and this is the seniors’ third time going to Lakeland. We haven’t lost on this floor since 2018. The kids gave everything they had, everything.”
Stranahan (25-3) will meet St. Petersburg (24-5) in a state semifinal at the RP Funding Center on Thursday at 4 p.m. in Lakeland.
After Friday’s victory, the Dragons have won 13 consecutive playoff games, that also include a pair of state titles. On the other side, Norland has lost in the regionals seven consecutive years after last winning a state title in 2015.
Norland (20-10) cut the deficit to 39-34 on a Cameron Johnson basket and free throw as part of a 6-0 run with 26.2 left in the third quarter. However, that was as close as the Vikings would get.