Adrian Cruz explodes for 40 points, leads Sagemont back to state title game with OT win
While a meaningless halfcourt attempt sailed through the air and final whistle blew, Adrian Cruz stomped his way to the Sagemont bench and pointed at the floor of the RP Funding Center. His teammates all rushed at him and he was in the center of a victory celebration.
On Wednesday, the building was his. The guard, who was born in Puerto Rico and came to South Florida to pursue his basketball dreams, did everything he could to carry the Lions — on offense, at the free-throw line and, in one key moment in the last 30 seconds, on defense — to a 76-72 overtime win against Jacksonville North Florida Educational Institute in the Class 2A semifinals.
For the first time since 2015, Sagemont (25-6) is headed to the state championship, where it will face Orlando Christian Prep at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
“Once the whistle blew, it was like, I’m here,” Cruz said. “I’ve never been on this stage, so it was like, I’m here and I’m grateful.”
The senior finished with 40 points, including 20 in the fourth quarter and overtime. He went 16 of 18 at the line, including 9 of 10 in the extra session. On defense, he led the Lions with two steals, but made maybe his biggest play — and maybe the game’s biggest — with 24.7 seconds left when he took a charge from Issac Tevarus as the North Florida Educational Institute guard drove to the basket to try to cut Sagemont’s lead to one.
The play kept the Lions up 73-70, gave the ball back to Sagemont and fouled Tevarus out of the game after he went off for 44 points of his own.
“It just shows you what type of player he is,” coach David Roe said.
Cruz and Tevarus dueled for a perhaps-unprecedented feat in Lakeland. While records are spotty, no one in the arena, including people who have seen more than 40 years of final fours, could recall two players scoring 40-plus in the same game.
Guard Dominic Issa was the only other player to score in double figures, adding 13.
Cruz started his work in the first five seconds when he snatched the opening tip out of the air just in front of midcourt, gathered himself for a second, then darted to the left elbow and all the way to the basket for an and-one reverse layup.
The Lions exploded for 27 points in the first quarter and led by as much as 16. Although they only trailed for 11 total seconds when the score was 4-3, they spent most of the second half desperately holding off Tevarus and North Florida Educational, as they managed only 22 points in the second and third quarters combined.
“They kind of got us a little bit out of character,” Roe said.
In the four minutes, Cruz had 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting, and then he only scored 10 more in the next two and a half quarters while the Fighting Eagles (24-8) trimmed Sagemont’s lead all the way down to 49-47.
By then, Tevarus was up to 25 points and he added 14 more in the fourth, including seven in the final 3:06 while North Florida Educational erased a 63-57 lead.
He had a chance to win the game with 9.7 seconds left, though, and went 1 of 2 at the free-throw line. Sagemont survived to get to overtime at 65-65 after Cruz added nine more in the fourth.
“I was just mentalizing myself of, I’ve got to finish this game,” he said. “It was just leaving it all on the court.”
Cruz started overtime by drawing a foul on Tevarus, getting to the line and knocking down both free throws. On the next possession, he got into the lane again and hit a floater to push the lead to 69-65.
For the next 1:38, Cruz and Tevarus traded baskets — an and-one for Tevarus, then two free throws for Cruz; a layup by Tevarus, then two more free throws for Cruz — until both guards were playing with four fouls and collided beneath the basket.
It was a gamble, both Cruz and Roe admitted, and it paid off when Cruz slid underneath the basket and in front of Tevarus to take a charge with less than 30 seconds left.
“I said, I have to take it because I saw the clock,” Cruz said. “He has the ball, he has been scoring the last, what, 20 possessions? It was like, I’ve got to risk it.”
While he sat on the baseline, he flexed his arms and four teammates rushed over to him to celebrate. He rose off the ground, got the ball back in his hands and made 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch to seal Sagemont’s win.
A few minutes later, Roe plopped down at his postgame press conference, exhaled and smiled.
“That,” he said, “was fun.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2022 at 3:13 PM.
