Top Performances: Day 3 of State Tournament (4A-6A) – Part II
Day 3 of the 2019 Boys State Basketball Tournament saw semifinal action in Class 4A, 5A and 6A on Wednesday at the RP Funding Center. Here are Wednesday’s final scores as well as Thursday’s schedule: 6A semifinals Fort Lauderdale Stranahan…
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Continue ReadingDay 3 of the 2019 Boys State Basketball Tournament saw semifinal action in Class 4A, 5A and 6A on Wednesday at the RP Funding Center. Here are Wednesday’s final scores as well as Thursday’s schedule:
6A semifinals
Fort Lauderdale Stranahan 76, Brooksville Nature Coast 45
St. Pete Lakewood 61, Jacksonville Paxon 49
6A championship
7 p.m. Thursday: Stranahan vs. Lakewood
5A semifinals
Davie University School 91, The Villages Charter 53
Jacksonville Andrew Jackson 69, Tampa Catholic 55
5A championship
4:30 p.m. Thursday: University School vs. Andrew Jackson
4A semifinals
Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy 64, Jacksonville University Christian 57
Seffner Christian 68, Miami Riviera Prep 59
4A championship
2 p.m. Thursday: Westminster Academy vs. Seffner Christian
Broward County went 3-0 in semifinal games at the Boys State Basketball Tournament Wednesday. Westminster Academy (4A), University School (5A) and Stranahan (6A) all advanced to state finals.
Here are some of the top performers from play on Day 3 in Lakeland:
Scottie Barnes, Roger McFarlane (University School)
Defending Class 5A state champion and GEICO Nationals finalist University School, playing without 6-foot-10 Duke signee Vernon Carey Jr., dominated The Villages Charter behind 25 points from 2020 Roger McFarlane and 22 from 2020 6-8 playmaker Scottie Barnes. University School connected on 19 of its first 24 shots from the field and held a 12-1 rebounding advantage to go up 40-19 with 2:29 to go in the second quarter. It was 67-38 by the end of the third quarter.
McFarlane made 11 of 14 field-goal attempts and contributed 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Barnes went 11 for 16, had 8 rebounds and 5 assists. “I just played it like a regular game,” Barnes said. “We all just needed to step up.”
“It was important because we had a man down,” McFarlane added. Carey was on the bench with his right foot in a boot. He injured the ankle in the second quarter of Friday’s regional final victory at Westminster Christian.
Jace Howard (University School)
Jace Howard (2020), the older of the Howard brothers, got the Sharks out to a fast start in his first start since getting injured in Oregon over the holidays. He not only hit all four of his first-quarter shots but made 6 of 7 in the first half. Howard was only needed to take two shots in the second half and finished with 12 points. He rebounded and played excellent defense. University School is the first squad in at least 10 years to win three consecutive games at the state tournament by 35-or-more points.
Coach Jim Carr said U-School has had “great practices” and an “open competition” since Carey went down. Carr was very pleased with how the Sharks broke the press, scored at the rim and took McDonald’s All-American Tre Mann out of the game.
Inady Legiste, Brian Dugazon (Stranahan)
Dugazon (2019) kept the pace up and junior post Legiste had his way in the paint against Nature Coast. Legiste went 11 for 13 from the floor to finish with 23 points and 6 rebounds, and Dugazon had 21. Stranahan shot 58 percent from the field and ballooned the lead to 29 (55-26) by the end of the third quarter. It is Stranahan’s first appearance in the final four since 1959.
Logan West (Andrew Jackson)
The 6-foot-5 West, the lone junior in the starting lineup for the Tigers, was all over the court. West had 3 blocks, 7 rebounds and scored in double-digits (10 points) in Andrew Jackson’s 14-point victory over Tampa Catholic. “I thought the key factor was executing on defense,” he said. West shot 5 of 11 from the field. West is still looking for his first scholarship offer. Coming from Jacksonville, he said it is games like this that are crucial. “We have to take advantage of opportunities like this in front of big crowds to get offers.”
Randolph Myers, David Daniels (Andrew Jackson)
The seniors combined to score 31 of Andrew Jackson’s 69 points. Myers shot 8 of 14 and finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Daniels had 15 points, including both of the Tigers’ 3-pointers, to go along with 5 assists and 4 rebounds. “We haven’t been here in a while [2002] and we’ve been trying to get here,” Andrew Jackson coach James Collins said. Collins credited his squad with “turning the corner” on Tampa Catholic and extending its defense.
Tre Mann (Villages Charter)
The University of Florida 2019 guard signee scored 17 points but was held to 6-of-16 shooting from the field (2 of 7 from 3). Villages Charter lost the rebound battle 40-16 and could manage just 6 of 23 from 3-point land. Coach Colt McDowell called University School “probably the best team in the state of Florida.” McDowell added, “We haven’t been in that position in a long time.” 6-7 senior Brandon Farmer added 11 points and 8 rebounds.
John Broome (Tampa Catholic)
Not only did the junior lead Tampa Catholic with 16 points but the 6-8 big contributed 9 rebounds and 6 big blocks. Broome said rebounding was the difference in the game. “We didn’t get a body on them … box out well enough,” Broome said. The Crusaders, for whatever reason, have not played well in Lakeland. Tampa Catholic has lost in three of the four semifinal games it has made in recent years. “It seems like every time we get here to the final four we don’t play our best,” coach Don Dziagwa said. The Crusaders have been held to 48, 48 and 55 points the past three trips, he said.
If you have high school basketball news, you can reach Pat Lammer via text at 954-661-9671.