Calvary Christian tops NSU University in Broward County battle at state semis
Cayden Daughtry scored 33 points as Calvary Christian’s boys’ basketball team pulled away from Broward County rival NSU University School in the second half to secure a spot in the Class 3A state final with a 79-58 victory at UNF Arena Monday afternoon.
Daughtry was unstoppable, finding his way to the basket for lay-ups or pulling up for short jumpers. The 6-2 junior kept the Sharks off balance with feints and fakes, moving past his defender and splitting double teams when necessary. Daughtry, who has received multiple Power Four conference offers, drew 12 fouls and converted 15 of 17 foul shots.
“Cayden is the best guard in the country. None of those guys are able to guard him,” said Calvary coach Cilk McSweeney, who cited Daughtry’s conditioning as an aspect of his game that gets overlooked. “He’s in great shape and takes care of his body. I could have left him in the whole game.”
The Eagles (23-1), ranked No. 2 nationally by MaxPreps, will face The Villages Charter on Wednesday night at 8 in the Class 3A final as they chase their fifth state title and second in a row.
“We have to avoid all the little jitters that come with a big game,” McSweeney said. “We need to defend, talk on defense, and rebound.”
The win was not as easy as the final score indicates. Two interior conversions by NSU University forward Sean Jones sandwiched around consecutive three-pointers from the right wing by point guard Justin Rhodes closed a 45-31 Sharks (23-6) deficit to four points with 2:46 remaining in the third quarter, causing McSweeney to call a time out while the Sharks celebrated.
Daughtry restored the Eagles’ confidence with a twisting lay-up on the next possession, igniting an 11-point spurt that became a 19-2 run for Calvary (23-1) over the last two minutes of the third quarter and the first four minutes of the fourth. University School never threatened again.
“We strategized a little bit, but I told them, if we don’t turn the ball over, we are up 25,” McSweeney said of the time out that stopped the Sharks’ momentum. “It is about us. That four-point lead was because we kept turning the ball over.”
Both teams tried to generate points with defense, deploying a full court, man-to-man press to generate turnovers. The Eagles were just better at it than the Sharks. Calvary forced 13 Sharks turnovers in the first half, leading to points in transition. A buzzer-beating drive by Daughtry gave the Eagles a 36-27 lead at the intermission.
Kenneth Francis, Jr., gave the Eagles a nice lift off the bench with six points in the third quarter as Calvary extended its lead to 45-31 before University School made things interesting with its rally.
“The unforced turnovers, that is what killed us,” Sharks coach Patrick Farrelly said. “When we stopped throwing the ball into their hands and we started moving the basketball, that is what got us back. Then we went right back into turning the ball over.”
Bolden had 14 points and seven boards for Calvary.
University School was led by strong forward Ahmed Mustapha, who held his own in an entertaining battle above the rim with 6-7 Calvary center Aiden Bolden. The 6-8 Mustapha led the Sharks with 16 points and snared a game-high eight rebounds.
Sean Jones contributed 15 points for the Sharks. Jordan Moshe netted 13 while Rhodes finished with 10.
“We wanted to play the champs and beat the champs,” said Farrelly, who took over as University School’s head coach on February 1 and said he would sit down with the school and determine his future and the future of the program in the coming weeks. “If you want to be the champ, you have got to beat the champ. My team did everything I asked of them. I am proud of this group and proud of this season.”