Westminster Academy is heading to the boys’ basketball state championship — again
Sam Griffin was exactly who Westminster Academy needed at the line with 13.4 seconds left and a near-disastrous collapse still at least something of a possibility. A 14-point halftime lead had dwindled all the way down to five when the star point guard went to the free throw line looking to finally bury Jacksonville University Christian in the Class 4A semifinals.
The Lions had missed too many free throws and turned the ball over too many times in the final minute, but Griffin was a steadying force. He swished home two free throws to ice a 64-57 win. For the fourth straight year, Westminster is heading to a boys’ basketball state championship game in Lakeland.
“I thought it was one of those hard-fought games. It was a dogfight,” coach Ehren Wallhoff said at his postgame press conference at the RP Funding Center.. “That’s what you expect at states and we’ve been here the last four years.”
After University Christian scored first, the Lions (23-4) led the entire way — much of it by double digits. Even with 56 seconds, Westminster led by 10 before the Christians (28-4) put a final scare in the Lions by hitting a three-pointer, grabbing a steal and sinking two free throws. After Westminster missed two free throws, the Lions came up with a stop and Griffin knocked down his two free throws to clinch a spot in the 4A championship at 2 p.m. on Thursday back at George W. Jenkins Arena.
The Lions will go for their third straight state title against Seffner Christian at 2 p.m. on Thursday back at George W. Jenkins Arena. The Crusaders (25-6) reached the title game with a 68-59 win against Riviera Prep in the other 4A semifinal Wednesday.
Griffin, who has signed a National Letter of Intent with the UT Arlington Mavericks, was a steadying force for the entire second half. The senior finished with a game high 25 points, 15 of which came in the second half. After going just 3 of 12 from the field in the opening 16 minutes, Griffin finished 5 of 10 from the field and 4 of 4 from the free-throw line.
Nearly every time University Christian started to make a run in the second half, Griffin was there to squash it. When the Christians cut the lead to 41-34 late in the third quarter, Griffin sliced to the rim and put back his own missed layup. When the Lions’ lead was back down to seven to start the fourth, Griffin hit a pull-up jumper from the right elbow to open the period. University Christian trimmed the lead all the way to 48-43 with 5:09 left in the game and Griffin drilled a three-pointer from the top of the key.
“One thing about us is if I come out in the first half and have a hot first half, I know that Sam’s going to pick it up in the second half if he’s having a bad first half,” fellow guard Chase Johnston said at the postgame press conference.
It was precisely the model the Lions followed Wednesday. Johnston, who has signed with the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons, added 20 points for Westminster with 15 of those coming in the first half. The nation’s all-time leader in three-pointers, Johnston went 3 of 7 from beyond the arc in the win.
The rest of the roster could fill in the gaps without shouldering much of a scoring burden. Junior point guard Stephan Swenson added 10 points and led the Lions with six assists. Freshman power forward Sam Middlebrooks only scored five points, but grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked eight shots to help the Lions move away from bringing another title to Fort Lauderdale.
“I know Sam’s going to score, I know Chase is going to score,” Middlebrooks said at the press conference. “To make the team better, I’ve just got to rebound and play physical.”
This story was originally published March 6, 2019 at 1:10 PM.
