Oak Ridge, Olympia win Metro titles; set up MLK showdown
Olympia and Oak Ridge won Metro Conference divisional titles Friday night, setting the stage for their boys basketball showdown against each other Monday.
Oak Ridge, still unbeaten against Florida teams, will host the area No. 1 Titans in a 6 p.m. game Monday as part of the MLK holiday Dream is Real Classic.
“We know them well, they know us well [so] it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Olympia coach Rob Gordon said.
The difference in the Metro tourney title games was that Oak Ridge had to come from behind to beat Jones in the East championship, while Olympia scored a one-sided win against Wekiva in the West final.
Olympia 72, Wekiva 51: Senior guard and Cincinnati commit E.J. “Jizzle” James dazzled with 29 points, including four made 3-point shots, as the Titans (17-1) launched an aerial assault from beyond the arc. They totaled 14 3s, with sophomore Sean Owens making four and juniors Cam Miles and Kaiden White three each.
“It was clicking for the right reasons,” Gordon said. “For the most part, we really shared the ball and it was just a really good performance for our group.”
After making 15 3s on Thursday in a 75-62 win against Windermere, Wekiva (17-3) struggled to find the same success. The Mustangs missed their first five attempts and finished 6-for-26 from beyond the arc.
Olympia is No. 2 in the FHSAA Class 7A power rankings. Wekiva is No. 2 in 6A.
“I just thought we continued to progress from last week,” Gordon said. “My whole thing with them is just like the head coach from Georgia: leave no doubt, put it all out there. If it’s good enough, it’s good enough.”
Gordon was referencing Kirby Smart, head coach of Georgia’s college football championship team.
Olympia won by at least 17 points in each of its three games in the tournament.
Senior guard K.J. Robinson scored 17 points for Wekiva, which had averaged 70.2 points per game before the loss.
“I just like the way our guys
are locked in,” Gordon said of his team’s defense. “There’s a great connectivity right now with our guys.”
Olympia started the game on an 8-0 run after back-to-back 3s from White and Miles followed by a steal and dunk by James. Another 3 with 3 minutes, 21 seconds to go in the first quarter from White gave Olympia a double-digit lead.
The Titans led 26-10 after the first quarter and 38-16 at halftime.
— Nate Marrero
Oak Ridge 79, Jones 72: For a little more than three quarters, the experience and tough schedule Jones has played gave it the advantage over the young talent of Oak Ridge.
The Tigers had a 10-point lead before a couple of key plays sparked the host Pioneers.
There were a pair of technical fouls on Jones on separate plays and multiple turnovers by the Tigers (9-9). The momentum shifted and Oak Ridge (12-5) hung on for victory in the East final.
“The [first] tech changed the game for them,” Jones coach Travis Aikens said. “They went on an 8-0 run and changed the momentum.”
Overall, it was a 15-4 run by the Pioneers that gave them a 63-62 lead midway through the fourth quarter. A monster dunk by Jordan Tillery gave Oak Ridge a 73-69 lead.
Tillery had 17 points (10 in the
fourth). UCF commit Cameron Simpson led Oak Ridge with 24 points on the strength of five made 3s and Tyler Johnson added 20 points and eight rebounds.
“Cameron kept us in the game in the first three quarters,” Pioneers coach Steven Reece said. “We didn’t match their intensity in the first half. We knew it would be a tough, physical game.”
Jones isn’t the only Orlando team reaping the rewards of a tough schedule.
“We’ve gained some maturity and have experience in big games this season,” Reece said
All five of the Pioneers’ losses have come against out-of-state teams, including three losses at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas.
The Tigers also played in that event and on most nights are facing bigger schools.
“We’re the smallest [public] school in the city,” Aikens said. “Most of the teams we play are 6A and 7A, but it’s a great thing that’s preparing us for the rest of the season.”
Calvin Liptrot led Jones with 19 points. Maryland football recruit Dylan Wade had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Jamari Sands added 10 points.
— Steve Gorches
OCP rallies: Orlando Christian Prep (15-1) had to come back from 11 points down in a 59-48 home win against Rockledge (12-2). A
12-4 run to start the fourth quarter sparked the rally. Isaiah Brown had a game-high 27 points and six rebounds, four assists and four steals in the win. Ameer Ramadan added 23 points, four assists and two steals.
Elsewhere: Windermere (13-4), which lost to Wekiva on Thursday, got back on track with an 86-50 win against visiting Edgewater (9-8) in the Metro West thirdplace game. Jalen Debose scored 22 points and Chalier Torres had 16 in the win.
Colonial (15-2) won 47-46 against Cypress Creek (9-9) in the Metro East third-place game.
Lorenzo De Jesus scored 19 points and The First Academy won 56-55 against Lake Highland Prep (7-9).
Montverde TV time: Orlando-area product Sean Stewart, a Duke recruit, scored 20 points to lead Montverde Academy to a 99-61 homecourt win against Class 7A state title contender Winter Haven on Wednesday night.
The Eagles (12-2) return to the national circuit this weekend with two ESPN TV Hoophall Classic games in Springfield, Mass., where the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is located.
Montverde, No. 2 in the Fab 50 national rankings, met La Lumiere (9-4) of Indiana on Saturday night and faces Sunrise Christian (11-3) of Kansas on Monday at 3.