University School edges Calvary Christian in District 14-5A basketball final
University School weathered a first half when its twin towers 7-1 Balsa Koprivica and 6-10 Vernon Carey Jr. were held in check before senior guard Michael Moore took over in crunch time with a personal 7-0 run to exact sweet revenge on Calvary Christian in a 54-52 road victory fort the District 14-5A title on Saturday.
Moore’s momentum swinging spurt, starting with a three pointer from the right wing to break a 41-41 tie with 2:49 left stole the spotlight as the FABC- Source Hoops No. 4 Sharks, who lost 55-48 to the Eagles on their home court Jan. 20, sent the FABC-Source Hoops No. 2 Eagles on the road to face Class 5A No. 1 Boca St. Andrews in the Regional quarterfinals next Thursday.
“This is a big rivalry,” Moore said. “Especially that Calary came to our house and you know, we didn’t come out with the victory so we had to come in here and make a statement. We were the underdogs and everybody thought we weren’t going to win so we had to prove them wrong.”
All things considered, the Sharks had to feel good about themselves trailing only 21-19 at halftime with Carey and Koprivica, the No. 2 ranked prospect in the 2019 class combining for five points in the first two quarters.
But Koprivica picked up his second foul with 5:22 left in the first quarter and never saw the floor again until the third quarter.
That left Carey to carry the inside scoring load but the highly touted sophomore went scoreless in the first quarter before two big plays provided a spark the Shark were missing. Carey converted a put back two handed dunk and stared down the Eagles big men for good measure to tie the game 19-19 with 3:34 left in the second quarter and then preserved the score with a block of Rasheem Etienne.
But Koprivica and Carey bounced back to help the Sharks win their second District title and secure a home date in the regional quarterfinals.
Koprivica (9 points) hit a 18-footer to beat the third quarter buzzer and give the Sharks aa 35-34 lead going into the fourth quarter and opened the final quarter with a dunk to put the Sharks up 37-34.
Carey, meanwhile, came alive for 13 of his 16 points in the pivotal second half, including a layin to put the Sharks up 39-34 before Moore’s dagger pull up three pointer, a layup and two free throws for a 48-41 lead with 1:32 left in the fourth quarter.
“This is big for us,” said Carey. “We have great fans. They do really good for us. Michael was big for us. He hit a big 3 to put us up three. He makes big plays for us. He is big for our team. It feels good but our goal is to win states. We know we will probably have to go against them in the regionals.”
Calvary Christian, coming off a 54-50 double overtime victory over Pine Crest in the District semifinals on Friday got a team-high 17 points from 7-0 senior Victor Uyaelunmo and 15 points from Jerald Butler but will lament not putting some distance between them and the Sharks in the first half before Carey and Koprivicia got going.
District 14-5A Final: University School 54, Calvary Christian 52: UNIV (19-6): Moore 12, Sanguinetti 10, Saunders 7, Koprivica 9, Carey 16. CC (19-5): Lebron 2, Solomon Uyaelunmo 8, Etienne 8, Eze 2, Victor Uyaelunmo 17, Butler 15. Half: CC 21-19. 3-Ptrs: Butler 2, , Moore 2, Sanguinetti, Carey, Victor Uyealunmo. Rebounds: Carey 7, Victor Uyaelunmo 10. Assists: Moore 4. Steals: Moore 4. Blocks: Victor Uyaelunmo 5.
MORE BOYS’ BASKETBALL
▪ District 16-5A Championship: Gulliver Prep 75, Key West 66: Gulliver will host Booker T. Washington on Thursday in a region quarterfinal. GP: Mashburn 38, Sanders 18, LaMonica 5, Robinson 7, Taylor 3, Perry 2, Silberman 2. KW: Woods 19, Z. Jefferson 16, Carey 16, Howard 9, Page 4, Matthews 2. 3-Ptrs: Woods 3, Mashburn 2, Jefferson 2, Howard, Sanders. Rebounds: LaMonica 13.
▪ Friday - District 8-2A Championship: Miami Christian 89, Westwood Christian 69: MC (24-2): Camacho 23, Alvarez 19, Rosario 10, Diaz 5, Haase 14, Hernandez 8, Oquendo 7, Rivera 3. Half: MC 48-34. Rebounds: Haase 7. Assists: Camacho 4, Haase 4. Steals: Camacho 4.
▪ Friday - District 15-9A: South Miami 58, Gables, 45: SM: Dawson 31, Arnold 16, Tyler 6, Ferguson 6, Lopez 6, Wright 2. CG: Marley 4, Dawkins 9, Alfonso 12, Hobner 6, Brown 5, Blett 7. Half: CG 30-24. 3-Ptrs: Arnold 4, Dawson 2, Dawkins 3, Alfonso 3. Rebounds: Dawson 7. Assists: Dawson 6.
▪ Friday - District 16-7A Championship: Doral Academy 42, Belen Jesuit 38: DA: Santos 12, K.Perez 10, Ayesa 6, Cobas 6, Nuñez 6, K. Perez 2. BEL: Rodriguez 11, Torres De Navarra 10, Dajer 7, Carrillo 4, Bravo 2, Milton 2, Sueiro 2. Half: DA 25-20. 3-Ptrs: Ayesa 2, R. Perez 2, Santos 2, Torres De Navarra 2, Rodriguez.
▪ Friday - District 16-5A Semifinal: Gulliver Prep 74, Westminster Christian 63: GP: Mashburn 22 , Sanders 20, LaMonica 12, Taylor 7, Perry 6, Silberman 5, Robinson 3. WC: Montalvo 31, McCormick 13, Lopez 11, Brigham 4, Wright 2, Verdeja 2 Threes: Montalvo 5, Lopez 1, Sanders 4, Silberman 1, Mashburn 1, Robinson 1. Rebounds: LaMonica 12, Perry 12. Assists: Silberman 4.
BOYS’ LACROSSE
▪ University School 14, Western 7: Max Hermann 7 goals, 3 assists; Duncan Jurman 5 goals, 2 assista; Jeremy Lapayowker 13 saves. UNIV 2-1.
GIRLS’ LACROSSE
▪ Friday- St. Thomas Aquinas 16, Gulf Coast 4: Ali Beekhuizen 4 goals, 5 assists; Carly Steinlauf 7 goals, 2 assists; Morgan Lusk 7 saves, 2 ground balls.
BOYS’ WATER POLO
▪ Gullliver Prep 12, Lake Mary 2: Rene Peralta 5 goals, 12 steals, 1 assist; Caio Jordao 3 goals, 4 steals, 2 assists; Karan Mirpuri 2 goals, 1 steal.
▪ Gulliver Prep 14, Dr. Krop 13: Rene Peralta 7 goals, 1 steal, 4 assists; Caio Jordao 5 goals, 2 steals, 4 assists; Phillip Gubbins 2 goals, 1 steal, 4 assists; GULL 7-1.
▪ St Thomas Aquinas 16, Columbus 5: Parker Strickman. Andrew Yurchak 5 goals each; Robert Schulte, Dane Coniglio 2 goals each; James Burnette, Jacob Harkins 1 goal each.
▪ St Thomas Aquinas 15, Lake Mary 3: Dane Coniglio, Andrew Yurchak 3 goals each; Parker Strickman, Matthew Grillo 2 goals each; Corby Bertolett 6 saves and scored. STA 9-1.
▪ Belen 15, Lake Mary 7: F.Tamborrel 6 goals; J.Chaviano, L.Mendez 2 goals each; J.Balerdi, A.Falcon, T.Kurzan, S.Melendez, M.Pulles 1 goal each; I.Cardenal 4 saves. BEL 5-1.
▪ Belen 14, American Heritage 6: Balerdi 4 goals, 3 assists; Tamborrel 3 goals, 2 assists; Kurzan 2 goals, 1 assist; Nico Aguilar 1 goal, 2 steals; Belisario 1 goal, 2 steals; Chaviano 1 goal, 1 assist; Mendez 1 goal, 1 assist; Pulles 1 goal; Ignacio Aguilar 2 steals, 2 assists; Labrador 5 saves. BEL 6-1.
▪ Friday - Boca Raton High School Bobcat Invitational: Gulliver Prep 15, West Orange 8: Rene Peralta 7 goals, 4 steals, 4 assists; Caio Jordao 6 goals, 2 steals, 3 assists; Felipe Granziara 4 blocks, 3 steals, 2 assists. Gulliver Prep 12, Columbus 9: Rene Peralta 5 goals, 2 steals, 2 assists; Caio Jordao 2 goals, 2 steals, 3 assists; Lorenzo Gavazzi 2 goals, 4 steals, 1 assist. GULL 5-1.
GIRLS’ WATER POLO
▪ Gulliver Prep 15, Dr. Krop 1: Ashlyn Pelletier 4 goals, 3 assists; Alissa Pascual 1 goal, 8 steals; Francesca Nord 3 goals.
▪ Gulliver Prep 9, Boca Raton 7: Nicole Aulicino 5 goals, 4 steals, 1 assist; Anastasia Perez-Ternent 1 goal, 3 steals, 1 assist; Elizabeth Perez 10 blocks, 3 steals, 2 assists.
▪ Gulliver Prep 15 Lake Mary 14: Nicole Aulicino 8 goals, 4 steals, 1 assist; Alissa Pascual 2 goals, 3 steals, 2 assists; Elizabeth Perez 11 blocks, 4 assists. GULL 7-1.
▪ Friday - Boca Raton High School Bobcat Invitational: Gulliver Prep 16, St. Thomas Aquinas 2: Anastasia Perez-Ternent 3 goals, 2 steals, 2 assists; Nicole Aulicino 2 goals, 4 steals, 4 assists; Maggie Rodriguez 2 goals, 1 steal, 2 assists. GULL 5-1.
This story was originally published February 11, 2017 at 10:03 PM with the headline "University School edges Calvary Christian in District 14-5A basketball final."