OCP edges Jones in Showdown in O-Town
Orlando Christian Prep dominated Jones in the first 11 minutes of their matchup in Saturday’s Showdown in O-Town boys basketball event, building a 23-point lead on the strength of sizzling shooting and stifling defense.
But what was looking like an early knockout for the home team turned into a grueling slugfest after halftime as the tenacious Jones Tigers forced three-time defending state champion OCP to hold on for a 53-47 win.
“Credit to Jones. Their pressure [defense] and physicality sped us up and caused problems,” OCP coach Treig Burke said after his team improved to 13-1.
Windermere Prep (11-3), No. 11 in 3A, trailed by 11 going into the second quarter but rallied to win 61-55 against Punta Gorda Charlotte (5-10) in the opening game of the tripleheader.
In the nightcap, 7A No. 7 Windermere High (11-3) bolted to a savage start in a 83-74 win against Tampa Catholic (7-7). The Wolverines, winners of eight of their past nine games, took a 19-5 lead in the first four minutes.
OCP junior point guard Ameer Ramadan made two consecutive 3-point shots from the right corner and then made it three in a row with a trey from the left side to give his team its 23-point advantage with 2:46 to go in the second quarter. He made five of his six 3-pointers and scored 19 of his game-high 24 points in the half.
Jones (7-8), ranked No. 7 in 5A, turned the game around by outscoring Orlando Christian Prep 36-14 in a span of about 13 minutes. That closed the gap to 45-44 with the Warriors in jeopardy of wilting with four minutes to go. Instead, standout 6-foot-4 junior Isaiah Brown scored six consecutive points, starting with a strong drive for a key basket and ending with a tip-in of his own missed shot. Ramadan added a score with 31 seconds remaining and Jones missed its final two 3-point shot tries after a string of makes from behind the arc by Caleb Heard, Jalen Cole, Telario Pringle and Jamari Sands.
“We did a good job sticking together and fighting through adversity to get this [win],” Ramadan said.
OCP, ranked No. 2 in the FHSAA Class 2A power rankings behind Sagemont of South Florida, has won 10 consecutive since losing to Olympia 99-91 in an epic three-overtime final in the Rotary Tip-Off Classic on Dec. 3.
Jones has seven losses to top-10 teams but is ranked No. 7 in 5A and has the talent and toughness to join OCP on deep playoff runs.
“Our schedule is probably the toughest around here,” Tigers coach Travis Aiken said after a postgame locker room conversation with his team. “All that is going to do is make us better.”
With Brown battling foul trouble, 6-6 senior Isaiah Sutherland had 15 points and 7 rebounds for OCP. Marc Angueki added 10 rebounds before
fouling out.
Jones was led in scoring by Cole (12 points) and Pringle (11).
Lightning-bug junior guard Ta’Veon Jones opened the Windermere win with a 3-point play and 6-7 senior Cole White added two dunks in the flurry of fastbreak baskets for the Wolverines.
Jones finished with 20 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds to lead a team with five double-figure scorers. White had 16 points to go with 12 rebounds. Jalen Debose added 14 points and Isaiah Dorceus and Chalier Torres each had 12.
“We’re doing a really good job of playing fast,” Wolverines coach Mark Griseck said.
Freshman Brandon Bass Jr. led balanced Windermere Prep (11-4) with 16 points. Mason Williams (11 points, 10 rebounds), Chandler Watts (11 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists) and Huan (10 points, 5 blocked shots) also came through in the comeback.
“This has been our M.O. this year,” Lakers coach Brian Hoff said of the slow start. “We’ve got to find a way to start faster.”
The Lakers made just one of their first 10 3-point shot attempts and turned the ball over three times. Freshman 7-footer Sinan Huan, who missed his first five 3-point tries, snapped that drought with a trey that gave Windermere Prep its first lead at 21-20 midway through the second quarter.
The game stayed tight for the next 15 minutes before the Lakers surged ahead 54-46 with a 12-3 run.
Titans seek title
Olympia (13-1), the No. 2 team in 7A, edged St. Joseph (11-4) of Santa Maria, California, 77-76 on Saturday afternoon to advance to the sameday championship game of the Allstate Sugar Bowl National Prep Classic in New Orleans. E.J. “Jizzle” James scored 26 points and Sean Owens added 10 for the Titans.
Olympia played Bartlett (15-4) of
TennesseeinthelateSaturdaynight final.
Nathan Hayes winners
West Orange knocked off stateranked Central Florida Christian Academy 70-57 and The First Academy, Sanford Seminole and Faith Christian also scored wins in the Nathan Hayes Shootout, hosted by Mount Dora Christian Academy.
Gian-Paul Anderson scored 15 points and Seminole (8-7) came from behind to take down Apopka 57-44 after trailing 21-14 at the half.
Faith Christian (10-6) beat Lake Buena Vista 64-57.
First Academy (12-3) took down Canterbury of St. Petersburg 79-57.
West Orange (5-9) broke open a tight game with key plays down the stretch against CFCA (7-4), which was missing two starters and relied heavily on Eduardo Placer (27 points).
West Orange had four players in double figures, led by Fredrick Crumpton’s 24 points. Caleel Horne added 15 and Kyle Behrle delivered 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Host MDCA (10-3) played Kissimmee Gateway in the late game.
Montverde motors on
Montverde Academy (11-2) got 24 points and 10 rebounds from Derik Queen and sophomore Cooper Flagg (16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocked shots) hit the game-winning jumper in overtime to beat Wasatch Academy of Utah 66-61. The Friday night NIBC Classic game was played in LaPorte, Indiana.
On Thursday, Queen had 34 points and 11 rebounds in a 66-62 win against Sunrise Christian of Kansas.
The Eagles host 7A No. 1 Winter Haven (13-2) in a Wednesday night game.
Elsewhere
Darius Livingston scored 26
points and Malachi Hampton added 16 for Wekiva (15-2) in a 75-58 Friday night win against Edgewater (8-6).
The Mustangs, ranked No. 3 in 6A, jumped out to a 23-3 lead in the first four minutes and had the same margin late in the third quarter (53-33).
Oviedo won 48-47 at rival Hagerty (10-4). The Lions improved to 9-6 with their seventh win in the past eight games.
Metro matchups
The Metro Conference’s two divisional tournaments tip off Monday night with play-in games.
The West Division tournament has three of the area’s top five teams in the FHSAA power rankings: top seed Olympia, Wekiva and Windermere.
Oak Ridge (9-5), which is unbeaten against Florida foes, is top seed in the East tournament. Games will be played Monday, Tuesday and Thursday to set up Friday night finals.
Here are the matchups for the first two rounds (all games played at higher seed; admission $6):
Metro West Division
All games played at higher seed.
Monday
G1: Dr. Phillips at West Orange G2: Horizon at Apopka
G3: Lake Buena Vista at Ocoee
Tuesday
G1 winner at Olympia Evans at Edgewater G2 winner at Windermere G3 winner at Wekiva Losers G1/G2, 7:30
Metro East Division
All games played at higher seed.
Monday,
G1: Winter Park at East River G2: Freedom at Lake Nona G3: Timber Creek at University
Tuesday
G1 winner at Oak Ridge Cypress Creek at Boone G2 winner at Jones G3 winner at Colonial Losers G1/G2, 7:30