Brevard County High School Basketball Playoffs, Friday, February 25

lillianpolanyiFebruary 26, 2022

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Holy Trinity’s men’s basketball team took the lead in the second half, winning the St. John Paul II Academy on Friday in Boca Raton to advance to the Class 3A semi-final round.

In Orlando, the satellite lost to Lake Highland Prep in 4A regional play.

Holy Trinity 58, St. John Paul II 55

Boca Raton The second half of the St. John Paul II basketball rally faced Holy Trinity Episcopal with a 58-55 defeat in the Class 3A Regional Final.

St. John Paul (17-11) rebounded from 54-46 at 1:20, with a 9-3 run and within 3 points with 5 seconds remaining. The buzzer beater’s attempt to send the match to overtime was inadequate, sending Holy Trinity (19-8) to Lakeland’s Class 3A Semifinal Round.

St. John Paul II finished 18-9 after the first quarter, ran 17-9 and scored within one point.

“They came out in the first quarter. They were ready to play,” said Scott Williams, head coach of St. John Paul. “They were making three people. They were making their shots, and I just told our guys patiently and take it one possession at a time, And we’re back to this. They believed and were playing with it. They didn’t press the panic button. “

Second grader Ricky Williams ignited the Eagles with eight points during the second quarter run.

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Holy Trinity led 27-26 in halftime.

The Tigers held their home team without a field goal in a nine-minute stretch starting at the 4:40 mark in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Holy Trinity has increased its lead.

“They kept running because they gave them a lot of chances for the second, third and fourth times,” Williams said. “They were more physical than us. They were more aggressive. There was a point where they had four aggressive rebounds in one possession. That was a big part.”

Holy Trinity made a 16-to-1 run that spanned the middle of the fourth quarter, with many of those points off the free throws.

With 1:36 left, 54-46 down, Eagles started a 9-3 run with three pointers from Senior Jamal Crawford with one minute left. Edison fired a free throw at once and missed the Tigers free throw, so St. John Paul returned the ball three points with 5.6 seconds remaining.

The Eagles tried to connect it with a deep three-pointer prayer, but it didn’t work.

Lake Highland Prep 76, Satellite 56

Orlando Satellite fans have taken over the Weng Family Gymnasium. For just over a quarter of Friday, the Scorpions played like home.

The Scorpions couldn’t stand the 40 points of Bryce Sensabo as Lake Highland Prep won the men’s basketball final in Region 1-4A.

Lake Highland Prep (25-3) will be attending Andrew Jackson, St. Petersburg Gibbs, Fort Lauderdale Calvary Christian or High Ariamate Lakes Academy in the semifinals on March 3rd.

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Satellite (26-3) has finished its historic season with 17 consecutive victories. The Scorpions, whose previous best finish was the 2013 Region Semifinal finish, advanced to the first Region Final.

The Scorpions did so behind the leadership of 12 seniors.

“This is a supergroup of men,” said Paul Cleatura, director of the Scorpions. “They are the closest family to me, except for my own family. I’ve been with them for four years. We’re successful. We had ups and downs together. They’re life. I learned a lot about, about basketball, about everything as a group. Without them, it would be a big deal. “

Oliver Pasque, one of the Scorpions’ two four-year starters, set the satellite on fire for his early leads. He scored 8 out of 17 points in the first quarter.

“We used to play a lot together. They are a good team. They fought hard,” Pask said. “We know we can play with them, but it didn’t come out today.”

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Diego Fernandez-Torres, who scored the team’s highest 25 points, also helped the Scorpions fight a draw 19-19 after the first quarter.

Fernandez-Torres hit four 3 pointers and also had 3 assists.

“We came out to fight. We’re in the top eight,” Fernandez-Torres said. “We gave it a fight.”

The Scorpions were backed by a fan base that drove for over an hour to prepare Lake Highland. After that, they matched the number of Highlanders fans and were dominated by volume. Creatura said the fans are there all year long.

“Our parents, our students, our fans are doing a lot of work. They chase us wherever we go,” Creatura said.

“We played at the DeLand Christmas tournament. We pulled out the home team for all three nights.”

The Scorpions continued to fight until the second quarter. Fernandez-Torres raised the Scorpions 20-19 with an 18-second free throw in the second quarter.

That was the last lead of the Scorpions. Sensabaugh hit a 3-pointer and turned his next property steal into a layup for the 24-20 Lake Highland Prep lead. The Highlanders gradually built a lead behind the 25 points in the first half of the sensor bow. Lake Highland Prep eventually led, halving to 42-31.

Fernandez Torres’ three pointers had a third remaining 1:16, keeping the Scorpions within 52-42. However, the Highlanders withdrew as Machai Campbell of Lake Highland Prep scored eight of his 13 points in the second half.

“Let’s remove the cap and go prepare for Lake Highland,” said Cleatura. “Coaching staff, players, they are a super team. They got us. Tonight was their night.”

— Lynne Ramsay