5 Takeaways: Mater Lakes at Blanche Ely
Blanche Ely hosted Mater Lakes on Thursday night in a Broward vs. Miami-Dade showdown in Pompano Beach. Here are 5 Takeaways from Class 8A Ely’s 67-53 victory over 5A Mater Lakes: Here comes Ely Defending Class 8A state champion Ely…
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Continue ReadingBlanche Ely hosted Mater Lakes on Thursday night in a Broward vs. Miami-Dade showdown in Pompano Beach.
Here are 5 Takeaways from Class 8A Ely’s 67-53 victory over 5A Mater Lakes:
Here comes Ely
Defending Class 8A state champion Ely is rounding in to form. The Tigers have only lost once since the calendar switched to 2019 — a 64-47 beating at the hands of Hillsborough on Jan. 5 at the Charger Classic in Palm Beach County.
Since then Ely (15-6) has won eight consecutive games. And two big reasons why are 6-foot-5 senior Joshua Scott and 6-5 junior Malachi Hazelton.
Thursday, Scott again was next to impossible to stop when slicing to the basket. Scott, an excellent driver, connected on 7 of 9 field-goal attempts and got to the line for another 8 makes to finish with 22 points. Hazelton connected on 3 of 7 from the floor to finish with 11 points and was a horse on the boards. 2020 guard A.J. Staton-McCray added 10 points.
But don’t tell that to coach Randall
One person not buying that Ely has arrived, however, is veteran coach Melvin Randall. And Randall knows what he is talking about. He has won a record eight state championships (6 at Ely, 2 at Deerfield Beach).
“Tonight it was a little wishy-washy, but overall it was pretty good,” Randall said afterward.
Of Scott’s performance, Randall noted: “He had a quiet 22. He could of done better.” That just means Melvin is not done coaching this team. He will continue to push and push and push until the Tigers accomplish their goals. One, no doubt, is winning a ninth state crown.
Ely will need better shooting nights from Daniel Merrius, Lamont Evans and Tyrecke Francois. The trio combined to go 4 for 24 from the field.
Off night for Largie
Mater Lakes 2019 standout Cyrus Largie (pictured below) had an uncharacteristic off night. Largie was held to a 4-for-17 shooting performance and finished with 9 points. Senior guard Jason Blanco hit 9 of 21 from the field to lead the Bears with 23 points.
The 6-4 Largie is getting the most attention from VMI and UC-Riverside, he said. Largie will likely visit VMI. “They like how relentless I go to the basket and how I can find my teammates in the open court,” said Largie, who played with Team Knight on the travel circuit.
Loss snaps 5-game win streak
Thursday’s loss snapped Mater Lakes’ (12-10) five-game win streak since coach Juan Urbina returned from suspension. Urbina is looking to get the Bears ready for play in what he calls “The Region of Death.” The South Florida region is home to the last two 5A state champions — Calvary Christian (2017) and University School (2018).
Urbina played his high school ball in Broward at Fort Lauderdale Dillard. He was a part of a state championship at Dillard both as a player and as an assistant coach.
Ely JV finishes 14-0
The Tigers junior varsity squad finished off a perfect 14-0 season with an 86-48 running-clock victory over Mater Lakes. 2022 Derrick Lovett was impressive with 28 points. Freshman Kolby King added 16 points.
If you have high school basketball news, you can reach Pat Lammer via e-mail at PatALammer@Gmail.com or via text at 954-661-9671.