Ely advances to Big 8 finals
FORT LAUDERDALE — The Tigers looked like they’d be able to put away Miramar on cruise control, but a fierce Patriots comeback forced Blanche Ely to fight to hang on in the Big 8 semifinals.
The Tigers, who led the Patriots 40-29 at halftime, managed to hold onto their lead and beat Miramar, the reigning BCAA Big 8 champion, 64-59 at Fort Lauderdale High on Friday night.
“It means a lot,” Ely junior guard Tyrecke Francois said. “We didn’t win it last year, and we hope to win it this year.
Francois led the Tigers with 17 points, scoring 11 in them in Ely’s second-quarter barrage. Led by Francois, the Tigers took a 19-17 first-quarter lead and opened the game up before the first half ended.
Ely led by as many as 16 points in the quarter and went to the locker room at halftime with an 11-point lead.
“It was just: listen to the coaches, play hard and going out and leaving everything on the floor,” Francois said.
But the Patriots came out strong in the third quarter, cutting the lead back down to single digits. In the fourth quarter, a pair of 3-pointers by Deshawn Jean-Charles and Reggie Luis got Miramar within four.
“We just need the win,” Francois said he was thinking as the Tigers’ lead evaporated. “I was going to do anything I can to help us win.”
The Patriots got within three points after a three by Raphael Culmer late in the fourth quarter with 51.5 seconds left, but Ely’s Lamont Evans IV hit a pair of free throws to give the Tigers their final four-point margin of victory. Luis had 15 points for the Patriots, while Khamaury McMillian had 14.
Blanche Ely will play the winner of the Deerfield Beach-Dillard semifinal on Saturday at 7:30 at Fort Lauderdale High.