Riviera Prep wins another 1-pt thriller at state final four
LAKELAND
The Riviera Prep boys’ basketball team seems to have a flair for the dramatic at the state final four.
The Bulldogs are making their third consecutive trip to Lakeland, and for the third consecutive time found themselves in a struggle down to the wire with their opponent.
Luckily for Riviera Prep, it has learned how to win those one-point thrillers.
Star junior guard Dante Allen’s go-ahead free throw with 3.2 seconds remaining lifted the Bulldogs to a 45-44 victory over Tampa Berkeley Prep on Wednesday at the RP Funding Center in a Class 3A semifinal.
In 2022, Riviera Prep lost a one-point heartbreaker to Tallahassee Florida High in the state championship game. The Bulldogs ended up on the winning side of a one-point win against Tampa Catholic in last year’s state semifinals, which led to them winning the school’s first state championship.
On Wednesday, another clutch one-point win propelled Riviera Prep (24-8) into the Class 3A state final, where it will play Windermere Prep on Friday night at 8 p.m.
“We don’t want to make a habit of it, but as long as we’re on the winning side of it, we’ll take it,” Riviera Prep coach Tony Shahbaz said.
Riviera Prep suited up without freshman guard Myles Fuentes, who was nursing an ankle injury suffered during last week’s regional final win over Westminster Academy.
Things got worse less than three minutes into the game when Allen collapsed on the court with an ankle injury and was forced to leave the game.
Berkeley Prep (23-7) took advantage and scored 13 consecutive points after Riviera had taken an early 4-0 lead.
But after getting some treatment on his ankle from the team trainer,
Allen returned and helped the Bulldogs claw their way back into the contest. Allen played the rest of the game and finished with 14 points and three steals. His goahead three with 1:43 remaining in the game put the Bulldogs ahead 44-42.
After Berkeley Prep tied the game with 1:04 to go on a jumper by Matt Able IV, Riviera slowed things down in order to take the final shot. Allen drove and was fouled, earning the chance to take the lead.
With the Bulldogs having a couple of fouls to give, they quickly fouled Berkeley Prep’s guards off the inbound to take the clock down to 1.5 seconds. This left the Buccaneers with only one desperation shot as time expired and Able
IV’s attempt hit the side of the rim.
Class 4A state semifinal - St. Pete Gibbs 58, North Broward Prep 55:
A pair of turnovers in the closing moments of the third overtime doomed North Broward Prep (24-8) to come away from it statetournament debut emptyhanded.
After the Eagles spent most of the third OT winding out the clock for a potential game-winning possession, a turnover led to Gibbs’ guard Jacob Daniels earning a trip to the foul line, where he converted one of two shots to give the Gladiators a 56-55 lead with seven seconds remaining.
On the ensuing inbound pass, Daniels made the play of the game when he tied up Eagles guard Ryan Baxley for a jump ball. The possession arrow was in favor of Gibbs and allowed Isaiah Medina to knock down two more free throws to seal the outcome.
“We were part of a really good basketball game. We came up a few plays short,” North Broward Prep coach Casey Wohlleb said. “Hats off to Gibbs, they made some nice adjustments and showed some energy at the end.”