BOYS BASKETBALL

Bay Area Still Ballin’: Ten Teams still alive for Lakeland

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The Tampa Bay area is blessed on the basketball court with ten teams still alive in the regionals finals stage of the postseason. The large schools (5A-8A) will play their respective regional finals on Friday–while the small schools (1A-4A )will vie for a final four spot in Lakeland the following night on Saturday. It could be a phenomenal weekend for the area schools in classes 5A-7A if the multiple teams left standing in those brackets handle their business. Many of our teams in the upper classes lie on opposite sides of the bracket keeping the dream for an all Tampa-area final in each of them still alive.

St. Pete's Darius Banks is trying to get his Green Devils back to the final four this season. They face Lakewood Ranch at home on Friday night.
St. Pete’s Darius Banks is trying to get his Green Devils back to the final four this season. They face Lakewood Ranch at home on Friday night.

Class 7A – Region-II Finals (Lakewood Ranch at St. Petersburg) – Friday 2/19
The Mustangs defeated Fort Myers-Riverdale 57-44 last evening to setup the showdown between the Green Devils, who defeated Bloomingdale 79-55. The Green Devils were in the final four in Class 8A last season and are playing at their highest level of the season at the right time. Winner of this game will play wither Creekside from the NW St. John’s County or Tallahassee-Lincoln next Friday in Lakeland at either 10:00a.m. or 12:00 noon.

Class 7A – Region-III Finals (Bartow at Melbourne) – Friday 2/19
The Yellow Jackets will be walking into a Hornets nest of their own–better yet a doghouse–as they take on Melbourne who defeated Lake Minneola 58-56 in a thriller on the Space Coast last evening. The ‘Dogs have been in the state’s top ten all season while Bartow defeated an extremely game Freedom squad 56-52. The Yellow Jackets were built for this moment, though. The winner of this one gets either Blanche Ely or McArthur from Hollywood next Friday at either 10am or Noon in Lakeland.

Class 6A – Region-II Finals (Palmetto Ridge at Largo) – Friday 2/19
The Packers defeated Port Charlotte 77-74 to reach the Elite 8 while Palmetto Ridge exacted revenge on their district rivals and neighbors from the Naples area by a 39-37 margin. Winner of this game will get either 6A finalists Gainesville or Pensacola in Lakeland a week later on Friday, 2/26 at either 6:00p.m. or 8:00p.m.

Class 6A – Region-III Finals (Deltona at Hillsborough) – Friday 2/19
The Terriers are haven’t been this deep in the playoffs in twenty years, and it doesn’t get any easier from here. Hillsborough defeated Armwood 49-47 while Deltona defeated Port Orange-Atlantic 66-49 to get to this point. Deltona features South Carolina football commit Evan Hinson and his “little” brother–freshman–Blake Hinson (6-6/210) in the front court. Winner of this game gets either Dillard or Miami-Norland in the semis next Friday in Lakeland at either 6:00p.m. or 8:00p.m.

Class 5A – Region-II Finals (Jesuit at Cape Coral-Mariner) – Friday 2/19
The Tritons are a very good squad even though they took a bad loss against Winter Haven in the Stinger Shootout at the end of last month. They defeated Southeast last evening 64-55 while Jesuit plodded their way past Robinson 45-41. Winner of this matchup will be facing the winner of Godby at Bishop Kenny in the semifinals next Thursday in Lakeland at either 1:00p.m. or 3:00p.m.

Class 5A – Region-III Finals (Ponte Vedra at Zephyrhills) – Friday 2/19
The Sharks defeated Santa Fe 59-54 last evening and will bring their fundamental/uptempo offense and their sharpshooters into Pasco County for what promises to be the ultimate “don’t-judge-a-book-by-its-cover” *wink-wink* contest. The Bulldogs defeated Nature Coast 61-51 last night and are as hot as anyone around. The winner of this game will be playing next Thursday in Lakeland versus either Poinciana or Coconut Creek at 1:00p.m. or 3:00p.m.

Class 4A – Region-II Finals (Oxbridge Academy at Tampa Catholic) – Saturday 2/20
The Crusaders are identical to St. Pete in that they’re playing their best ball of the season–and it’s not even close–and that’s scary. TC defeated LaBelle 90-61 last night while Oxbridge defeated final four participants Cardinal Newman out of West Palm Beach by a score of 57-46. Winner of this contest gets the winner of Bolles at East Gadsden next Wednesday at either 1:00p.m. or 3:00p.m.

Class 3A – Region-III Finals (Tampa Prep at Windermere Prep) – Saturday 2/20
The Terrapins were left for dead after Juwan Durham went down to injury, but that’s why Head Coach Joe Fenlon is simply one of the best around and he’s got Tampa Prep in the Elite 8 after a win over Seffner Christian by a score of 64-57. The Lakers defeated Santa Fe Catholic 96-58 and are widely considered one of the best teams in the Orlando Metro area regardless of class. Winner of this game gets with Miami’s Sports and Leadership Management (SLAM) Academy or Archbishop Carroll–also from Miami–next Tuesday in Lakeland at either 6:00p.m. or 8:00p.m.

Class 2A – Region-III Finals (Orlando Christian Prep at Lake Wales-Vanguard) – Saturday 2/20
Vanguard’s in the Elite 8 after defeating Academy at the Lakes from Pasco County by a 53-48 margin while OCP is in following a victory over Central Florida Christian Academy in a revenge game from the district finals. The winner of this game will face either Boca Raton’s Grandview Prep or Miami Christian next Tuesday afternoon at either 2:00p.m. or 4:00p.m.