FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Calvary Christian Academy (4-1) only made two field goals in the fourth quarter, but they connected on 14-of-17 free throw attempts to defeat McArthur 53-51 Saturday afternoon at the Hoop Exchange Southern Shootout.
“Coming into today I was seeing how we were going to respond because we ended up losing a crazy game yesterday,” said Calvary Christian head coach Cilk McSweeney. “We’re missing our top point guard. Usually we’re up and down so we played a little differently today but we just stuck to the game plan. We knew that their best shot was off offensive rebounds so we needed everybody to box out. So, we boxed out, we ended up grabbing it and we ran our stuff on the other end. We were patient this game and I was proud of them. We played hard with limited guys.”
The Eagles led the Mustangs 35-34 at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth the Eagles went inside to senior Solomon Uyaelunmo (Towson) who scored 11 of his game high 23 points in that stanza.
“Solomon killed them inside as far as getting them into foul trouble,” McSweeney said. “Our guards fed our big man and he did his thing.”
Speaking of guards, many of Uyaelunmo’s fourth quarter points came from scoring opportunities created by freshman guard Noah Tovar who added 12 points of his own.
“Nobody really knows about him,” McSweeney said of Tovar. “He came from New York City, he’s a freshman and his dad got a job in Ft. Lauderdale and reached out to us because he heard that we won a state championship. It’s a blessing, a pleasant surprise. He starts and he does everything for us, I think the sky’s the limit for him.”
McArthur was led by Michael Labastille who had 15 points. Jacob Narvaez, Isaiah Woodstock & Javier Zapata each had 8 points.
MIRAMAR GETS PAST ATLANTIC
Saturday was the Miramar Patriots fourth game this week but if they were fatigued it did not show too much. The Patriots jumped out to a 12-3 lead over the Atlantic (Delray) Eagles, and never trailed, on their way to a 51-44 victory.
“We had four games in five days and had a tough one last night that went into double overtime against South Broward” said Miramar head coach Tremaine Stevens. “Tonight, was a mental challenge for them, it’s our third game in a row, but they came out and executed the game plan well. We weren’t looking to get up and down the floor and run, it was more about preserving their energy and making sure everyone came out of this game injury free.”
Immanuel Crump had 16 points to lead Miramar and Damian Miller added 15
Atlantic was led by Donaldson Beau-Frere who had 13 points, D.J. Tucker added 11.
It's worth noting that Atlantic played without junior forward R.J. Duhart. According to a team source, Duhart was suspended for six weeks "by the state" for getting a double-technical.
DILLARD’S FOURTH QUARTER SURGE TOO MUCH FOR GULLIVER PREP
Bryce Oliver scored 25 points to lead Class 7A defending champion Dillard (5-0) to a 74-54 win over Gulliver Prep (5-2). Oliver, who is also a wide receiver on the Dillard football team and holds several high-major offers, scored in each quarter and made six-of-eight free throws.
Oliver has visits planned to Kentucky on Dec. 15 and Louisville on Jan. 15.
If his teammates want to know how to win championships, Oliver would be a good person to ask. In addition to winning the 7A title last season, they won the 6A title in 2016. Oliver was a member of both teams.
“You’re talking about a three-star football kid who has been in our varsity program now for three years,” said Dillard head coach Darryl Burrows. “He brings that energy, he knows how to play basketball. He can shoot it, drive it, he’s really, really strong. He’s probably this team’s leader right now.”
That’s a good thing.
Dillard led the Raiders 33-19 at the half, but Gulliver Prep came out of the locker room and exploded for 23 third quarter points. Oliver scored 11 of his teams 15 points in the quarter and the Panthers held a 48-40 lead going into the fourth period. That’s when Noel Alexander stepped up and scored ten of his 11 points and the Dillard stepped on the gas and finished a 20-point win. The fourth quarter push was something coach Burrows took satisfaction in.
“They’re a good team so you can’t take anything for granted,” said Burrows. “We got a little lethargic there in the third quarter and they made a tremendous push there. We kind of had our way inside a little bit and we picked up the pressure in the fourth quarter.”
Sophomore guard Jamal Mashburn, Jr., led Gulliver Prep with 22 points and Tony Sanders added 12.
DWYER TOPS CORAL SPRINGS
Class 8A Dwyer (5-0) held class 9A Coral Springs (5-3) to nine fourth quarter points on the way to a 63-54 win. Eddie Davis led the way with 24 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, while Michael Ingraham added 16 points and 3 rebounds and Miles Coleman chipped in with 13 points and seven rebounds.
“It was a tough game,” said Dwyer head coach Fred Ross. “I knew Coral Springs would give us a hard time with the way they play. They do some things that we have to get better at, that is defending, getting back in transition and getting out on three-point shooters.”
Senior guard Wilvens Fleurizard had a game high 29 points for Coral Springs.
WESTMINSTER ACADEMY LOSES FOR THE SECOND TIME IN AS MANY NIGHTS
Northeast (4-1) fought off host Westminster Academy’s fourth quarter comeback attempt to defeat the Lions 69-64. It was the second win over a 2016-17 state champion for Northeast this season – the Hurricanes defeated Miami Christian in the Kreul Showcase.
“We kind of hit a stall in our offense but our season has been built on defense,” said Northeast head coach Darrance Gillion.”
The “stall” Gillion mentioned coincided with Ricardo Jackson going down with a leg injury with 5:41 to play.
“When you lose your starting point guard it’s always tough at first,” Gillion said. “Good thing our second-string point guard was our starting point guard last year, he’s also a senior. It’s like riding a bike, but it took a little longer than I wanted him to take but he pulled it out.
Senior Brandon Swaby had a game high 18 points for Northeast and Elie Cadet added 17. Anthony Atkinson led Westminster with 16 points and Zach Scott, Jr., (FGCU) had 15.
