Oak Ridge cruises in preparation for event in Hawaii

Oak Ridge's nationally ranked boys basketball team breezed through its final tune-up in preparation for next week's trip to the Iolani Classic in Hawaii.

The Pioneers (8-0), ranked No. 21 nationally in MaxPreps' Xcellent 25, pulled away from Orlando University (2-6) in the second quarter Saturday for an 80-48 win at the Windermere Prep Hoopfest event.

C.J. Walker threw down four dunks and finished with a team-high 21 points and 11 rebounds in the win. Kaleb Coleman added 17 points and 9 rebounds while Niven Glover tallied 15 points.

Oak Ridge plays its first game of the Iolani Classic on Wednesday against Kailua. Montverde Academy (4-0), ranked No. 1 nationally, opens Tuesday against Hawaii's Campbell.

“We're excited to take the boys to Hawaii and play against the best,” said Oak Ridge coach Steve Reece. “There's some really good teams there, so we'll be the underdogs and we've got to be ready to play because it'll be a good test for us. That's why I scheduled the toughest teams that we could early in the season to prepare ourselves for that.”

What was a competitive game Saturday at the onset took a drastic turn when University's Ocyher Owens left the game with 36 seconds left in the first quarter. The 6-foot-4 sophomore suffered a right wrist injury after hitting a 3-pointer to get the Cougars to within 20-15.

University never regained its footing from there while being held scoreless until midway through the second period when Carlos Machua connected for a 3-pointer to make it a 10-point deficit at 28-18.

In other Hoopfest games, The First Academy (2-4) held an 11-point advantage at halftime over Bradenton Lakewood Ranch (4-0) before faltering down the stretch in a 55-53 loss.

Alex Shields made a pair of free throws inside the final two minutes and Kam Summers, who finished with 20 points, added a bucket with 25 seconds left to get the Royals to within 54-53. Following a missed free throw at the other end, the final heave from Shields was off the mark from beyond the arc.

Oviedo improved to 7-1 with a 90-78 win over Tampa Catholic (4-3). Melbourne (7-1) rebounded from its first loss of the season this week at Harmony for a 65-55 win over West Orange (2-4).

Windermere Prep (2-3) lost the nightcap 65-54 to unbeaten Jacksonville Impact Christian (9-0).