Balanced effort leads Sagemont boys to state basketball final for third year in a row
While some of the players have changed, the winning formula remains the same for the Sagemont boys basketball team.
New additions, such as guards, Patrick Liburd and Kevin Thomas, have mashed well with mainstays like Jordyn Kee, Devontae Jean and Dominic Issa.
On Tuesday afternoon in Lakeland, the Lions leaned on the experience of all five of them to pull away from upset-minded Jacksonville Impact Christian for a 59-45 victory in a Class 2A state semifinal at the RP Funding Center.
“It’s just about playing to our standard and staying focused on ourselves, and what we can control,” Sagemont coach David Roe said.
“I think the older guys who have been here, some of them either twice or all three years in a row on this little run we’ve had, have really helped the younger guys, or even if they’re not young, the newer guys prepare themselves for this moment.”
Sagemont (24-6) will next try to repeat as state champions when it takes on Orlando Christian Prep on Thursday night at 8 p.m. in the Class 2A final. This will be the third consecutive season that the two teams meet for the state championship.
OCP won the state in 2022 and Sagemont prevailed by one point last season.
Kee glad Sagemont with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists While Kevin Thomas added 13 points. Liburd, a transfer from University School who has led the lions in scoring this season, finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
Sagemont broke open a close game in the second half once controlled the game better in the paint and in transition. The Lions outscored Impact
Christian 13–0 on fast break points and 30-24 in the paint.
“I think that we settled down and got to playing way more like ourselves,“Roe said. “We rebounded the ball better in the second half and our focus was better. They had a great game plan and they were incredibly patient making a sit a little longer than we’ve been used to in that first half. It had us a little bit frozen.”
Jean, who was remarkably clutch during Sagemont’s run to a state title last season, came up with a pair of key dunks in the second half and finished with nine points overall. Kee saw extended minutes, playing the entire game, with point guard Ryan Eddy out with an ankle injury. Roe said Eddy should be able to play in Thursday’s championship game.
“I think the past three years we’ve kind of changed the style that we’ve played, and we’ve been sticking to it now,” Roe said. “We constantly talk about what’s the sign of a good team. It’s selflessness and the chemistry that you’re playing with a bunch of people that can make a play where if you’re putting good players in a position to make easy shots, you’re gonna win more times than you lose.”