Palmetto boys advance to GMAC basketball final

Compete for all 32 minutes. While it sounds cliche, it’s the simple message Miami Palmetto’s boys’ basketball coach Alex Ordoqui has continually instilled into his team this season.

On Wednesday night, the Panthers needed to put that lesson into practice after an 18-point second-half lead vanished against host Miami Norland.

But led by clutch play down the stretch from its guards, Palmetto forced overtime and ultimately prevailed 64-59 over the Vikings in a GMAC tournament semifinal.

The Panthers (18-3) will next take on Columbus, which advanced to the final following an 81-47 win over Miami Southridge, on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Miami Dade College’s Kendall Campus gym. Palmetto has won 14 in a row since losing to Columbus (18-3), which is ranked No. 7 nationally by MaxPreps, on Dec. 14.

“We were able to sustain an enormous run from them and we were fortunate to get it to overtime,” Ordoqui said. “Once we did, we got back to what made us successful the first three quarters and that let us take the lead and control of the game.”

The Panthers led 45-27 late in the third quarter before Norland (14-7) turned up its defensive intensity and began forcing turnovers, which they turned into quick points at the other end.

The Vikings put together an impressive 25-3 surge including a run of 15 consecutive points to take a 52-48 lead with just more than two minutes left in the fourth.

But that’s when Palmetto’s trio of guards — Randy Smith, Mathew Mairena and Braylon Burbridge — made the clutch plays necessary to make sure the Panthers pulled through.

Mairena, who hit three threepointers in the first quarter, put Palmetto back in front with another triple and quick jumper.

After Norland took a 55-53 lead with just more than a minute left, Smith made his way to the foul line and hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 55. As Norland held for a final shot in regulation, Alejandro Garcia stripped a driving Carl Parrish of the ball, sending the game to overtime after Mairena couldn’t connect on a three at the buzzer.

Smith, who scored a game-high 22 points, scored all nine of Palmetto’s points in the extra period to seal the win.

Mairena had 15 points and Burbridge had 11. Norland was led by Wilson, who had 15 points. Marcis Ponder had 10 points, Isaiah St. Preaux scored nine of his 11 points in the fourth quarter on three three-pointers and Parrish added nine points.

Smith scored 24 points the last time Palmetto played Columbus. But after keeping themselves in the game for roughly a quarter and a half, the Explorers pulled away for a lopsided 88-48 win. With the two teams slotted in District 16-7A, Palmetto and Columbus could also meet in the district tournament final and in the regional playoffs.

MORE RESULTS

GMAC semifinal — Columbus 81, Southridge 47: Cameron Boozer had 29 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Explorers. Cayden Boozer had 12 points, six assists and six steals. Garyn Bess, Benny Frangela and Malik Abdullahi also each had 12 points.

GMAC quarterfinal — Southridge 77, South

Dade 63: Southridge’s Koree Cotton and South Dade’s Mister Dean each scored 31 points to lead their teams on the scoresheet. But in the end, it was the Spartans that had a little more depth and defense to tip the scales in their favor.

Cotton, who has signed to play his college ball at the Virginia Military Institute, sparked Southridge with 12 first quarter points as did Keyonte Green, who hit three 3-pointers during those first eight minutes.

Dean scored 20 of his points in the second half and helped the Bucs pull to within six in the third quarter before Cotton helped the Spartans pull away in the fourth quarter.

Southridge’s trapping defense at midcourt forced several turnovers in the first half, which it converted into quick transition scores, allowing the Spartans to build a 41-29 lead by halftime. Anthony Dozier had 15 points and Rey Daniels also had 10 points. Orien Valdes had 14 points for South Dade.

GMAC quarterfinal — Columbus 86, Braddock 36: Cameron Boozer totaled 24 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and six blocks to lead the Explorers. Benny Frangela also had 19 points and Garyn Bess had 10 points and six assists.

GMAC quarterfinal — Palmetto 66, Northwestern 49: Matthew Mairena led the Panthers with 25 points and Randy Smith had 14 points and 12 rebounds. Braylon Burbridge had 13 points and Santiago Henriquez added 12 points.

GMAC quarterfinal —- Norland 68, Miami

High 52: Carl Parrish led the Vikings with 18 points and Triston Wilson had 17 points and eight rebounds.

Andre C. Fernandez: @FernandezAndreC