Columbus basketball shows its might, moves closer to second consecutive state title
About a month ago, Columbus’ Cameron Boozer had heard enough.
It was the day after the Explorers suffered a shocking loss to rival Palmetto, costing them a district championship.
“It lit a big fire under us especially after watching them storm the court, and then watching people talking on social media, saying Columbus isn’t good anymore,” Boozer said.
Added Cameron’s twin brother, Cayden Boozer: “Last year, we had a similar moment where we lost in the regular season by 20 and it was the same. We refocused and got better and that loss ultimately helped us get here.”
Columbus has been showing people there are no cracks in its armor ever since.
The Explorers needed only three minutes on Friday afternoon to take total control of its Class 7A state semifinal on its way to a 71-28 win against an overmatched Orlando Colonial squad at the RP Funding Center.
Columbus (25-4), which had never won a basketball state title in its program’s history before Cameron and Cayden Boozer enrolled at the school last season, is within one victory of securing back-to-back state championships.
The Explorers, ranked No. 11 nationally by MaxPreps entering the tournament, can make this happen if they beat Winter Haven on Saturday at 8 p.m.
It would cap a banner day for Miami-Dade County basketball as four county teams will vie for state championships on the same day for the first time ever and first time in the same season since 1996 - the only other season that happened. A sweep by the Explorers, Riviera Prep, Mater Lakes and Belen Jesuit would break the record for most state titles in the same season for Dade teams.
The sophomore Boozer brothers, who have already garnered so many accolades so quickly in their young careers, feel driven to make the accomplishment of winning back-to-back titles happen for themselves and their teammates.
“At Columbus it’s different than any other school and just being in a great environment like that creates such a bond,” Cameron Boozer said.
Cameron Boozer led Columbus with 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two blocks while Cayden totaled 11 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. Malik Abdullahi had 12 points and five rebounds and Benny Fragela had nine points. Garyn Bess had six assists.
The complete effort left Colonial reeling by halftime and down 43-12. Columbus prompted a running clock after taking a 52-16 lead midway through the third quarter.
“Today felt like David vs. Goliath out there,” Colonial coach Gary McDaniel said. “Their size and versatility is a problem for anyone. They rim protect very well and they took a lot of things around the basket that we were used to getting and they’re very tough to guard especially around the basket.”
For a team that could be accustomed to success where indifference from its players could show at that point in the game with such a comfortable lead, it was the opposite for Columbus when coach Andrew Moran took his starters out to start the fourth quarter.
Both Boozer twins, Abdullahi and other regular rotation players stood, cheered loudly when one of the Explorers reserves scored and chanted defense when they didn’t have the ball.
“Everybody on this team wants everybody to do well when they’re in,” Moran said. “It says a lot about our team and how they play for each other. Everyone who played today scored so that was pretty cool.”
This story was originally published March 3, 2023 at 4:14 PM.
