Norland defeats Northeast, earns chance to end regional finals skid
In the end, his players perhaps made it a little tougher on themselves then they had to.
But longtime Miami Norland boys’ basketball coach Lawton Williams III has a saying around this time of year.
“It’s all about having practice tomorrow,” Williams said. “And guess what, we’ve got practice tomorrow.”
The Vikings have practice despite seeing a big 17-point lead late in the third quarter shrink to five with just over five minutes left. Norland kept its poise down the stretch, made its free throws in the final minutes and hung on for a 60-50 victory over Oakland Park Northeast in a Region 4-5A semifinal Tuesday night at its home gym.
The win advances the No. 1-seeded Vikings (1810) to their fourth consecutive regional final on Friday where they will host No. 3 seed Rockledge at 7 p.m.
Williams and his players can only hope that the experience of frustrating losses in each of those previous regional finals (last year to Belen Jesuit, Stranahan in 2022 and Pembroke Pines Charter in 2021) will be the onus to carry them to victory on Friday and punch their first ticket to the state final four in Lakeland since they won their last of four consecutive state titles in 2015.
As he has all season long, Williams leaned on his two star seniors, guard Triston Wilson and power forward Marcus Allen to help carry the Vikings through and they did just that.
Wilson led all scorers in the game with 17 points (10 in the second half) while Allen, who was below his scoring average with just 11 points, got it done under the boards, pulling down 12 rebounds.
“Coach said before the game that rebounding was going to be a big factor to win tonight,” said Allen, a Missouri commit. “So if that means I only have 11 points but pull down 12 rebounds, then I’ll take that every time because that means we’re probably going to win. Whatever it takes.”
Allen scored 9 of his 11 points in the first half and led the charge right before halftime when the Vikings went on an 11-2 run to close out the half and take a 31-20 lead to the locker room at the break.
The Vikings continued to play suffocating defense in the third quarter and when Caleb Clarke buried a three-ball from the corner with 1:45 left in the third, Norland enjoyed its biggest lead at 39-22.
But that’s when the Joseph brothers, Landen and Chandler, caught fire for the Hurricanes (18-11) as they dropped three three-pointers to lead Northeast on a 16-4 run to cut the deficit to 43-38 with 5:28 left.
“Every day we practice late-game situations, up five, down five and all kinds of scenarios,” said Wilson, a Presbyterian (S.C.) commit who also had seven rebounds and four assists. “So basically coach has prepared us for all these kinds of situations. It was just a matter of staying poised and we were ready for it.”
Both teams started trading baskets at that point but Zo Bennett’s three point bomb from the corner cut it back down to 53-47 with 1:09 to play.
But Northeast, which was attempting to advance to only its second regional final in the last 40 years, had to start fouling at this point and the Vikings made 7 of the 8 free throws they attempted to secure the win.
“We were up 17 and didn’t finish it,” Williams said. “That’s what we’ve been doing lately, not finishing games the way I want to. But at the end of the day, like I said. we’ve got practice tomorrow and when you’re in the postseason, that’s what you have to have.”
Region 4-3A semifinal — Riviera Prep 67, Hialeah Educational Academy 53: Junior guard Dante Allen led Riviera Prep with 22 points and had at least four steals, which led to quick transition baskets as it led for all but 20 seconds against an upstart COHEA squad making its first regional semifinal appearance.
Riviera Prep (22-8), the reigning Class 3A state champions, moved a step closer to a potential repeat, but now face a familiar foe as it will travel to Fort Lauderdale to face Westminster Academy for the third consecutive season in the regional finals. The Lions edged Boca Raton St. Andrews 69-65 in their regional semifinal on Tuesday.
Riviera has won the previous two encounters, beating the Lions at Westminster in 2022 and rallying from an 18-point deficit to win at home last season.
Westminster is ranked No. 4 regardless of classification in the latest FHSAA power rankings.
Riviera Prep is right behind the Lions at No. 5.
The Bulldogs knew, however, they were in for a battle they could not overlook on Tuesday from COHEA (21-8), which trailed by as many as 18 early in the fourth quarter before narrowing the gap to seven.
Chris Levy helped COHEA, whose mascot is also the Bulldogs, stay in it with 20 points including four made three-pointers. Reece Randolph also had 10 points. COHEA withstood a 14-3 Riviera run to open the game before slowing down the pace and pulling within three points late in the first half.
But the defensive effort by Allen and sibling guards Myles and Mason Fuentes kept COHEA from catching up. Myles Fuentes finished with 14 points while Mason Fuentes had 11. The duo fed forward Jeremy Jenkins often inside as he also finished with 11 points.
Region 4-6A semifinal — Pembroke Pines Charter 67, South Plantation 55: Josh Harris and Jeremy Elyzee each scored 22 points as the Jaguars rolled at home on Tuesday.
Pines Charter (22-4) will host St. Thomas Aquinas (21-6) on Friday at 7 p.m., with the winner advancing to the state semifinals in Lakeland.
Pines Charter won the Class 5A state title in 2021 after losing in the final in 2020 to Tallahassee Rickards.
“We forced a lot of turnovers and guys coming off the bench that gave us a lot of intensity,” Pines Charter coach Dave Roca said. “When Jeremy and Josh got going it was a mismatch for [South Plantation]. We’re looking forward to the match up with St. Thomas. We’re not looking for to chasing their little guys around and launching three’s all over the court. We just need to be ready for it.”
The Jaguars are 9-1 in the last 10 meetings against St. Thomas, including a 75-69 overtime victory in December.
A big second quarter for Pines Charter proved to be the difference in the outcome.
An aggressive Jaguars defense forced numerous turnovers that helped lead to many transition baskets.
The Jaguars created the separation they were seeking in the quarter.
Led by the eight points from Harris and a shutdown defense, Pines Charter outscored the Paladins 19-2 for a 31-16 lead at the half.
“Going back to our last game it was the same thing,” South Plantation coach Derek Felder said. “We won three of the four quarters and win you lose one of those quarters it can’t be big. They are a worthy team and they deserved it. We knew what we had coming in, but we just didn’t get it done. Credit to Pines Charter.”
Region 4-6A semifinal — St. Thomas Aquinas 57, Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer 27: The Raiders held the Panthers to seven second half points. Aquinas was led by sophomore Derek Sandi with 17 points and his younger brother Kellson Sandi had 15 points. Ayden Ambrose added 11 points.
MORE SCORES
Region 4-7A semifinals: Columbus 76, Western 41; Miami High 62, Coral Springs 51
Region 4-5A semifinal:
TERRA 77
Region 4-4A semifinals: North Broward Prep 50, Calvary Christian 48; Mater Lakes 77, Gulliver Prep 46
Region 4-3A semifinals: Westminster Academy 69, Boca Raton St. Andrews 65.
Region 4-2A semifinals: Sagemont 79, Atlantic Christian 54; True North 75, Westwood Christian 57
Rockledge 87,