Osceola defends home court
In a showdown of defending state champions that showed both are primed to pursue repeat titles, Class 9A Osceola pulled out a gritty 54-52 homecourt win over 3A Orlando Christian Prep on Friday night in Kissimmee.
The Kowboys (19-5) held OCP (13-9) to five points over the final seven minutes and went ahead with 2:24 to go on two free throws by Jaduhkiss Soto that made it 53-52.
Osceola still needed three more stops and got them in a game that ended with OCP standout Nassir Little missing a contested jumper at the buzzer. Kowboys fans stormed the court to celebrate victory in a game that drew UCF coach Johnny Dawkins and a big crowd.
“It’s a good way to start the playoff run,” said Osceola guard Josh Marte, who led all scorers with 22 points and defended tenaciously against OCP’s talented Ronaldo Segu. “This was our test right here.”
The Kowboys, still unbeaten against area teams over two seasons, also got a big inside performance from 6-foot-9 junior Omar Payne (13 points, 10 rebounds, 7 blocked shots) and contributions from many.
“The defense by Isaiah [Palermo] and Jaduhkiss down the stretch was phenomenal,” said Osceola coach Nate Alexander. “That’s been the season for us. … We’re just grinding out games.”
There were 10 lead changes in an intense first half that opened with Payne rattling the rim with a dunk. Segu slipped a crafty pass to C.J. Walker for a hammer dunk just before halftime and OCP led 28-26 at the break.
The electricity was amped up several more notches in the third quarter when Little, a 6-7 North Carolina recruit, went high to block a shot by Payne. The two got tangled up as Payne fell to the floor, creating a brief skirmish. Both Little and Payne were assessed technical fouls. the Tigers 42-15 through the second and third quarters but then rested their top players.
Seminole won its 10th consecutive game and locked down the No. 1 seed for the 9A2 tournament with an 86-80 homecourt victory over Oviedo.
Sophomore O’Shea Baker scored 21 points and Ladarron Cleveland chipped in 20 for the Seminoles (20-3), who went 11-1 in league play — the only loss to Oviedo by 3 in December.
“We knew we could play with them,” Seminole coach Sylvester Wynn said. “We knew it was going to be tight, so we tried to prepare for that.”
Aidan Knight scored 20 Oviedo 9-3).
The Seminoles controlled the game early. They led by as many as 17 in the second quarter, but Oviedo fought back with a run of its own to close the gap to 43-38 by halftime.
The Lions continued to hang around throughout the second half, getting within one point three different times, but the Seminoles held them off down the stretch. (17-6,