American Heritage nearly rallies from 20 down, but falls 1 point short in state title game

Daytona Beach Mainland made the long walk down the court to take two more free throws and slowly everyone inside the RP Funding Center on Saturday realized what it meant for Plantation American Heritage.

American Heritage was one point short of pulling off an incredible 20-point, fourth-quarter comeback in the Class 5A championship, but the Patriots looked up at the big scoreboards behind the baskets at George Jenkins Arena and realized their rally would end there. With only eight-tenths of a second left, there was no time to even try a miracle heave. Arielle Facyson fell to the ground. Teriyah McFadden held her hands over her face. They saw it was over: American Heritage would lose 62-61.

“That moment,” senior wing Sydni Studesville said, “is kind of heartbreaking.”

It was the end of one of the most dominant runs in Florida High School Athletic Association girls’ basketball history. After five straight state championships, the Patriots (23-8) were finally dethroned and it took until the final second for Mainland (21-8) to actually finish off the upset in Lakeland.

American Heritage comes up one championship short of tying Miami Country Day’s record for consecutive state titles. A nightmarish third quarter was the culprit.

The Patriots started the fourth quarter down 50-30 and it was too big a gap to overcome, even when a wild run gave them a chance to tie the game in the final 10 seconds. They whittled away at the Buccaneers’ lead across those final eight minutes, forcing Mainland into eight turnovers and watching the Buccaneers go 1 of 8 at the free-throw line, and wound up with the ball, down 62-59 with about 15 seconds to go.

American Heritage took a timeout and got the ball to Facyson in the corner, but a step-back three-pointer by the junior guard, who led the Patriots with 17 points, fell short. A putback by freshman guard Jasleen Green got American Heritage within a point, just a few seconds too late.

“We should’ve played like that from the beginning,” said Green, who finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds in her first state championship.

Added coach Greg Farias: “We missed too many layups, too many free throws. We should’ve won by 20, to tell you the truth.”

The Patriots had their chances early. They led 24-18 with 3:21 left in the first quarter, only to go into halftime down 30-25. It was a missed opportunity for American Heritage and it snowballed into a disastrous third quarter.

The Patriots only scored five points in the third, turning a competitive game into a potential blowout. It was ultimately the difference in the title game.

American Heritage went 0 of 5 from three-point range in the third quarter and committed five turnovers. The Patriots got frazzled, and rushed shots and settled for too many deep threes. By the time they settled down, it was too late.

“When people are making runs, we’ve got to be able to be more disciplined,” Farias said.

Studesville, who scored 12 points, and guard Mariah McKenzie were the only seniors to touch the floor for the Patriots this weekend, and their youth and inexperience was felt in the title game.

American Heritage would like it to be a lesson — the type of lesson it hadn’t had to face in half a decade.

“We waited three quarters to play Heritage basketball,” Farias said. “Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen in championship games.”

This story was originally published February 25, 2023 at 5:53 PM.