Blanche Ely boys’ basketball wins thriller to claim record eighth state championship
Somewhere in the shuffle of the celebration of Blanche Ely’s Broward County-record eighth championship, a customized T-shirt found its way into Joshua Scott’s hands. On the front: Three photos of him with three championship rings superimposed over his body. On the back: “The first to ever do it!”
“It just got in my hands,” the senior forward said on the court after the postgame celebration had died down a bit.
Someone in the Scott family had taken a risk finding a T-shirt shop in Fort Lauderdale, so a celebratory shirt was ready for the player and at least half a dozen other family members in the RP Funding Center crowd once the final buzzer sounded on the Tigers’ 57-52 win against Bradenton Lakewood Ranch in the Class 8A championship, and Scott actually did have a third ring.
“I was like,” guard Lamont Evans said, and then grimaced. “That’s a lot of confidence.”
This iteration of the Blanche Ely boys’ basketball team has made confidence well deserved. On Friday, the Tigers erased a 15-point halftime lead against Windermere in the 8A semifinals. On Saturday, Blanche Ely trailed by as many as 10 in the second quarter before rallying in Lakeland.
It’s the sort of success which can only come when a team like the Tigers is led by a player like Scott. Blanche Ely’s win breaks a tie with Dillard for the most championships in history by a Broward team. The win gave the county four state championships for the first time in history. And Scott, who closes his career with back-to-back state titles, is the first player in program history to win three.
“This one is more special,” Scott said. “I’m the first person at Blanche Ely to get three, so it feels pretty special. It still hasn’t hit me yet, but once it do, it might be a whole other mood.”
The back-and-forth battle between the Tigers and Lakewood Ranch quickly became one of the most competitive games of the weekend. After the Mustangs built a 10-point lead in the second quarter, Blanche Ely closed the half strong at George W. Jenkins Arena.
In the final moments, Evans came alive. The Tigers, who went 11 of 23 from three-point range to rally past Wolverines in the semifinals, started just 1 of 7 before the last minute of the first half. With 40 seconds left in the half, Evans fired up a three-pointer from the left wing to cut Lakewood Ranch’s lead to 26-21. Eleven seconds later, Evans hit another to send Blanche Ely into the half down 26-24.
“It definitely got us going,” said Evans, who scored 12 points, all on threes. “We were just in a rhythm.”
The Tigers and Mustangs traded blows throughout the second half and the lead changed hands 11 times total. With 5:08 left, Scott, playing with four fouls, completed an and-one to give Blanche Ely a 44-43 lead. The Tigers never trailed again.
Aderes Staton-McCray and Lakewood Ranch junior Keon Buckley traded baskets, then the Mustangs came up with a steal. Lakewood Ranch junior Christian Perez fired a pass ahead to Mustangs star Christian Shaneyfelt for a breakaway layup.
But Staton-McCray chased from behind and reached the backboard at just the right time. The junior wing pinned Shaneyfelt’s shot off the backboard to preserve Blanche Ely’s 46-45 lead.
“That was the play of the game right there,” coach Melvin Randall said. “It kept us going and it was a momentum change.”
For the second straight day, the Tigers iced their victory at the free-throw line. Nursing a lead in the final minutes, Blanche Ely pulled the ball out and let its athletic forwards barrel through the seams of Lakewood Ranch’s zone defense, which stretched out to pressure ballhandlers. With 1:02 left, it got Staton-McCray to the line. He knocked down both to stretch the Tigers’ lead to 52-48.
Staton-McCray finished the game with 19 points to lead all scorers, plus six blocks. Scott added nine, while going 4 of 4 from the field, and fellow forward Malachi Hazelton did the same before fouling out in the last minute. The Tigers made seven free throws in the final 1:02, including five by Staton-McCray. The Mustangs finished the game going 1 of 4 from the field with a turnover.
“It could’ve gone any way,” Randall said. “We kind of stepped up at the right time and caused a few turnovers and turned them into baskets.”
This story was originally published March 9, 2019 at 7:13 PM.
