In past seasons, the words Piper and Big 8 would never be uttered in the same sentence.

As Dillard, St. Thomas Aquinas, Boyd Anderson and Ely became BCAA Big 8 Boys Basketball Tournament regulars, those who bled Piper orange and brown could only dream when their day in the sun would come.

That all changes Wednesday when second-year coach Brent Maffett leads the Bengals (15-7) onto the Fort Lauderdale gym floor for their first-round matchup against reigning 5A state champion Dillard (20-3, ranked No. 1 in 5A).

Maffett said that anyone who believes the Bengals will be satisfied with making their Big 8 debut is mistaken.

''It's not about getting to the Big 8 and the state playoffs, it's about making a statement,'' Maffett said. ``If you want to be mentioned in the same breath with the best teams in the county then you have to beat them.''

The early quarterfinal tips at 6:30 and features defending Big 8 champion Boyd Anderson (20-1, ranked No. 1 in 6A) against South Broward. On Thursday Douglas (20-4) faces Deerfield Beach (16-7) at 6:30, and St. Thomas Aquinas (15-7) battles Blanche Ely (18-4) at 8. The winners meet in the semifinals, scheduled for 6:30 and 8 on Friday.

Piper's starting lineup features Van Gray, Zach Hackett, a transfer from St. Thomas Aquinas who leads the team in scoring (17 ppg), and three forwards -- Bre'Juan Maddox, Greg Mathurin and Jared Roberts.

With Roberts the tallest starter at 6-3, Piper has adopted the same full-court defensive pressure Maffett learned as a six-year assistant under Blanche Ely coach Melvin Randall.

''The main thing with coach Randall is his work ethic and competitive nature,'' Maffett said. ``He is a gym rat. He is going to stay in there until his players get it right. My main goal coming here was to make our players competitive the same way and build off that.''

After a 7-1 start the Bengals suffered a four-game losing streak and finished tied for third in District 11-6A. One of those mid-season losses came to Dillard at the Panthers' Holiday Tournament. Maffett said the Bengals made it a two-possession game late before Dillard went on a 8-0 spurt to win 54-40.

''We're real excited,'' Hackett said. ``We want to show that we are a real team. We are here to win. We are real excited about playing Dillard. I came over here because I wanted to do something big for Piper.''

Those are words Piper hasn't heard in too long a time.

BOYS' BASKETBALL

• McArthur 48, West Broward 26: Angel Desiderio had 10 points and Gabriel Garcia added nine points to lead a balanced scoring effort for the Mustangs. WB: Mussa 6, Chalas 5, Clark 3, Payne 2, Bradley 4, Mann 4, Kiuhan 2. McA (11-9): Davila 7, Johnson 6, Dor 6, Garcia 9, Desiderio 10, Matos 2, Legagneur 8. Halftime: McA 27-13. Three-pointers: Desiderio 1, Mussa 2, Clark 1. Rebounds: Johnson 12, Garcia 12. Assists: Davila 7. Steals: Legagneur 5.

• Sagemont 59, Western 42: Rod Days had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Vinny DeLucia added 20 points and seven assists to lead the visiting Lions. Sag (15-9): Morales 6, Days 18, Penny 3, DeLucia 20, Johnson 8, Flynn 4. West: Roberti 11, Blatcher 8, Weigel 10, Feliciano 5, Aguilar 4, Namin 4. Halftime: West 26-22. Three-pointers: Roberti 1, Blatcher 2, Weigel 1, Morales 2, DeLucia 3. Rebounds: Days 10. Assists: DeLucia 7. Steals: DeLucia, Days 2.

• University 50, Archbishop McCarthy 36: Damien Dwaine had 14 points and Brian Charif added 13 points for the Suns. Zachary Perkins led the Mavericks with nine points and nine rebounds.

Univ (19-4): Johnson 3, Charif 13, Phanord 6, Amadee 4, Liebman 2, Dwaine 14, Perry 8. AMC (11-11): Nezbeth 5, Perkins 9, Perez 7, Schoedinger 6, Mailloux 2, Frye 5, Bursevich 2. Halftime: Univ 25-14. Three-pointers: Charif 2, Phanord, Nezbeth, Frye. Rebounds: Perkins 9, Perez 9. Assists: Nezbeth 4. Steals: Nezbeth 2.

LATE MONDAY

• Dillard 75, Western 39: Sherman Gammage had a game-high 18 points and Robert Burger added 10 points to lead the Panthers. West: Roberti 10, Belatchar 3, Weizel 18, Seliciano 2, Lewis 6. Dil (20-3): Burrows 9, Gammage 18, Ojeda 5, Hasty 3, Burger 10, Landers 8, Dieudonne 3, Forrest 1, Slack 2, Eason 11, Anthony 5. Halftime: DIL 34-20. Three-pointers: Burrows, Gammage 4, Ojeda, Hasty, Berger 2. Rebounds: Landers 7. Assists: Landers 4. Steals: Landers 5.

GIRLS' DISTRICT BASKETBALL

• Pine Crest 57, Coral Springs Charter 33: Meaghan Osceola led the Panthers with 18 points and five assists.

CSCha: Grady 17, McIntosh 2, Balda 4, Finucan 3, Gunderson 2, Evans 3, Smith 2. PC (15-10): Osceola 18, Garcia 13, Gillespie 6, Hampton 4, Becker 7, Graf 2, Coney 4, Acernese 3. Halftime: PC 31-15. Three-pointers: Osceola, Becker, Finucan, Evans. Rebounds: Garcia 7. Assists: Osceola 5. Steals: Gillespie 5.

FOOTBALL

South Plantation defensive backs Royel Knight and Mario Francois both committed to Ellsworth (Iowa) Community College on Tuesday.

WEDNESDAY'S SCHEDULE

BOYS' BASKETBALL

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