Lendeborg’s 17 points, 21 rebounds propel UAB
It was a heck of a year for Palm Beach County sports. Keiser won the NAIA national football championship. Florida Atlantic advanced to the Final Four and a buzzer-beating jumper away from making the Finals. And, of course, there were the usual high school athletes who excelled.
On Thursday, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced finalists for its 2024 annual Sports Awards — and it could not have been easy narrowing those fields. The awards will be presented at the 47th annual Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame banquet, which honors the outstanding athletes, coaches and contributors to sports in the region.
This year’s banquet — which will also include the Hall of Fame induction — will take place on March 24 at the Palm Beach Kennel Club. Tickets are on sale now.
Here are the finalists:
Amateur Athlete of the Year
Johnell Davis – FAU Basketball Andrew Riley – Palm Beach Atlantic Golf
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Yaxel Lendeborg got goosebumps after his latest rebound-hogging performance against a ranked league rival.
Lendeborg had 17 points and a season-high 21 rebounds, and Efrem Johnson made a big 3-pointer in overtime to lift UAB to a 76-73 win over No. 20 Florida Atlantic on Thursday night.
It was the Blazers’ second victory versus a ranked American Athletic Conference opponent in less than two weeks. They also beat then-No. 19 Memphis on Jan. 28, when Lendeborg had a similarly dominant performance: 23 points, 16 boards.
“It’s just a whole bunch of goosebumps,” Lendeborg said. “I feel like this is the highest point of my life so far. After the Memphis game and this game, I can’t really compare this to anything else.”
With the Owls missing their first six shots in overtime, UAB (15-8, 7-3 AAC) surged to a six-point lead. Nick Boyd’s 3pointer cut that in half for Florida Atlantic with 1:46 left.
UAB then twice worked down the shot clock and grabbed offensive rebounds – Lendeborg grabbed the first and tipped the second out of the paint – to play keep-away with the ball. Johnson’s long 3-pointer from the top of the key made it 76-70 with 31 seconds remaining.
Alijah Martin missed a 3 at the other end but made his second try. Eric Gaines missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 10 seconds left, giving Florida Atlantic another
Jordan Travis – FSU Football
Coach of the Year
Adam Epstein – Keiser, Swimming and Diving
Dusty May – FAU, Basketball
Doug Socha – Keiser, Football
High School Coach of the Year
Ashley Byrd – Spanish River High School, Softball
Toby Harbeck – The Benjamin School, Golf
Fred Ross - Dwyer High School, Basketball
High School Athlete of the Year - Female
Alex Dorr – American Heritage, Lacrosse
Emma O’Day - Boca Raton High School, Cross-Country
Lily White – The Benjamin School, Soccer and Football
High School Athlete of the Year - Male
Javian Mallory – West Boca Raton High School, Football
Jack Schulte – St. Andrew’s, Lacrosse Calvin “Bobo” Sirman – Lake Worth High School, Basketball
Special Olympics Athlete of the Year
Eric Ford
Outstanding Sports Contributor
Miracle League of Palm Beach County
Ticket information
General Admission: $125 Table 8: $1,000 PalmBeachSports.com when they needed to,” said Owls coach Dusty May, a former UAB assistant. “Great college basketball game. I thought Lendeborg’s ability to get them extra possessions and control the paint was key.”
After the Memphis win, UAB also beat North Texas in overtime before losing at SMU.
“Wow. Our last two wins, the word that I would use would just be gutsy,” Blazers coach Andy Kennedy said. “I thought it was gutsy again tonight. I thought we really, really competed on the defensive end against one of the best offensive teams in college basketball.”
The Owls erased a seven-point deficit over the final five minutes of regulation, and the game went into overtime after both teams missed a pair of shots.
The Blazers, who trailed by seven at halftime, caught up when Florida Atlantic missed nine straight shots over a span of six-plus minutes.
Vasquez pushed it to 62-55 with 5:21 left on a pair of free throws and a layup.
Davis, who missed his first four 3pointers, and Jalen Gaffney both made 3s for the Owls to close the gap.
UAB’s Javian Davis and Florida Atlantic center Vlad Goldin were called for double technicals early in the second half. The two got tangled up away from the ball and went chest to chest, then Goldin hit the floor after a shove from Davis.
That gave Davis four fouls with 17:34 left and he fouled out in the final minutes with two points, eight below his season average.