Palmetto upsets nationally-ranked Columbus to claim district boys’ basketball title
Columbus’ boys’ basketball team entered the week ranked No. 5 in the nation by MaxPreps and has often looked unstoppable, particularly against local competition.
But one of its rivals had been gaining confidence in recent encounters with the Explorers, and now could be their greatest obstacle on the road to the state finals.
Led by the duo of Matthew Mairena and Randy Smith, Miami Palmetto upset Columbus on Friday night at the Miami High gym in a thrilling 66-64 victory in overtime to claim the District 16-7A championship.
Mairena scored 29 points and Smith added 26 points and nine rebounds as the Panthers (24-4), ranked 20th in the state overall, guaranteed themselves of hosting a game in the first round and likely will be the No. 2 seed in the region.
Palmetto became the first team from the state of Florida to beat Columbus in over a year. The last was Pembroke Pines Charter on Jan. 19, 2022. The Panthers are also the first Miami-Dade County team to beat the Explorers since Coral Gables on Feb. 12, 2021.
When the teams first played on Dec. 14th, Columbus routed Palmetto 88-48.
The teams squared off again in the GMAC championship game on Jan. 27. Again, the Explorers won 84-57 although the teams played fairly evenly after Columbus stormed out to a 24-6 lead after one quarter.
On Friday night, things evened up.
Mairena and Smith each made six three-pointers while Braylon Burbridge had six points and seven assists.
Smith scored 17 of his points in the first half as the game was tied at 27 at halftime and even at 56 at the end of regulation. Smith did so despite picking up three fouls in the first quarter.
Mairena scored eight of Palmetto’s 10 points in overtime and made a go-ahead three-pointer with under a minute left. Columbus’ Cayden Boozer scored a layup to tie it.
Mairena was fouled with 10 seconds left and proceeded to make both free throws. Boozer missed a potential game-tying shot at the buzzer.
Cameron Boozer picked up his fourth foul late in the third quarter and later fouled out after picking up a technical.
Columbus (21-4), which entered the game as the state’s top-ranked team regardless of classification, will likely remain the region’s top seed since seeding is determined by the FHSAA’s power rankings. Therefore, Palmetto and Columbus could face each other again if both advance to the regional finals.
This story was originally published February 11, 2023 at 9:19 AM.
