St. Andrew’s advances to final

BOCA RATON — Anthony Polite didn’t have his greatest night on the court but was great when he needed to be.

Polite, whowas held to a season-low10 points, had a key steal that led to a threepoint play with 3.6 seconds remaining as host St. Andrew’s, the state’s secondranked Class 4A team, rallied past Chaminade-Madonna, 50-47, Tuesday night. His heroics broke a 47-47 deadlock.

Averaging 22.8 points per game, Polite could only muster one basket in the first half and two field goals in the second half. His teammates stepped up whenthey needed to as the Scots (26-1) won for the ninth consecutive game, while the Lions (19-9) saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end.

St. Andrew’s will host Westminster Christian (Miami) on Saturday.

“Basketball is a team sport, and maybe every night is not your night,” Polite said. “I didn’t makemy shots, but everybody else stepped up which was great. On the last shot, I had to give something to them because I had to finish thegameby doingwhat I had to do.”

Early on it looked like St. Andrew’s might drop its second game of the season. Its only loss was to Oxbridge Academy, 46-41, on Jan. 16. Chaminade-Madonna broke open a 19-19 tie and outscored the Scots 7-2 to close out the first half with a 26-21advantage.

Chaminade-Madonna held a 35-30 lead with 3:04 left in the third quarter. Akiem Dasher and Leandro Allende had 14 and 13 points, respectively, in the losing effort.

Sophomore guard Marcus Pelissier scored four straight points, and Ryan McAdoo had a steal and layup with 18 seconds left to giveSt. Andrew’s a 36-35 lead at the end of the third.

Pelissier, who finished with a team-high10 points, had a game-winning steal on the Lions’ final inbounds play to clinch the win.