Stranahan boys hoops upends Norland to extend playoff streak, return to state final four

“Let’s Go Dragons, Let’s Go Dragons” was the chant by the home court fans as the clock wound down to zero.

Then a slam dunk by Hykeem Williams at the buzzer put the Stranahan faithful into a case of hysteria.

In the end the Stranahan boys’ basketball team is heading back to the state tournament following a 56-43 victory over Miami Norland in a Class 5A regional final on Friday.

Senior guard/forward Houston Culpepper scored 14 and Darrin Garrett added 13 to lead the Dragons, who improved to 12-0 at home this season.

“[Culpepper] was focused all week in practice,” said Stranahan coach Edward Schuler. “He wanted this bad. We never trailed and this is the seniors third time going to Lakeland. We haven’t lost on this floor since 2018. The kids gave everything they had, everything.”

Stranahan (25-3) will meet Pensacola Pine Forest in a state semifinal at the RP Funding Center on Thursday at 2 p.m. in Lakeland.

After Friday’s victory, the Dragons have won 13 consecutive playoff games, that also include a pair state titles.

On the other side, Norland has lost in the regionals seven consecutive years after last winning a state title in 2015.

“This was a real emotional game,” Culpepper said. “A lot of people doubted us and wanted us to be underdogs. Now we are on the road to Lakeland.”

Norland (20-10) cut their deficit to 39-34 on a Cameron Johnson basket and free throw as part of a 6-0 run with 26.2 left in the third quarter. However, that was as close as the Vikings would get.

Stranahan increased the lead to double-digits at 48-38 on a Tamarrien Thorpe basket with 3:54 left.

Between Culpepper and Williams defending Norland’s sophomore leading scorer Marcus Allen, they shut down holding him the 11 points.

Allen was the only Norland player in double-figures on the night.

“We played help side defense tonight,” Schuler said. “Once we eliminated [Marcus] Allen we knew they had no one else. “

Norland never led at any point during the game. Their 43 points was the second fewest scored in any game this season.

“This was on me as I did a bad job preparing us offensively,” said Norland coach Lawton Williams. “We needed to be better prepared for the matchups. It was on me.”

For the second straight regional game Culpepper got off to a strong start. His eight points in the opening quarter led the Dragons to a 10-point lead at 17-7.

The Dragons zone defense, which held Norland without a shot attempt for three minutes during one stretch also held them to only one made field goal.

Allen, who entered the game averaging 18.5 points was held scoreless in the first frame, but his four points and six from Clarence Burts helped their team climb back to within 25-21 with 1:16 left in the half.

Garrett hit a big 3-pointer late in the second quarter to up the lead to seven points for Stranahan. Williams finished with 10 points.

This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 10:46 PM.