No fluke: St. Thomas Aquinas boys’ basketball wins back-to-back state titles
St. Thomas Aquinas ended a near quarter-century state championship drought in boys’ basketball last season.
With nearly its entire roster returning, the Raiders went from underdogs to favorites.
It wouldn’t change a thing in terms of Aquinas dominating the competition on its way to a repeat.
In a rematch of last year’s Class 6A state final, the Raiders delivered an even more decisive victory than it did last season against Orlando Evans, beating the Trojans 67-51 on Saturday at UNF Arena.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Aquinas coach Julius Sandi said. “To be able to do it with my sons is unbelievable and I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s special in the world of basketball. When you have a dad that deals with a lot, and to be able to prove the doubters wrong and make it happen in back-to-back seasons, especially with my two boys, God is good.”
Sandi smiled and stood like a proud papa at center court - literally - after the game was over.
For the second consecutive season, Sandi got to share the win with his two sons, DJ and KJ Sandi, both starters for Aquinas (28-4).
They and the Sandi’s extended Raiders’ basketball family celebrated the school’s third state title all-time.
Aquinas also became the first Broward County school to win state titles in both boys’ and girls’ basketball in the same season and the eighth in state history.
“The feeling is amazing,” DJ Sandi said. “When my dad first got the job, we knew we had to change the basketball culture here. Words can’t express the feeling of being able to do this. I love my family and all glory to God.”
Aquinas’ victory gave Broward County four boys’ state championship teams this season as the Raiders joined Weston Sagemont (Class 1A), Fort Lauderdale Calvary Christian (3A) and Pembroke Pines Charter (5A).
Broward County teams have won an impressive nine state titles on the boys’ side over the past two seasons.
“That county, we’re battle-tested,” Julius Sandi said. “A lot of us play against each other to see where we’re at. Broward County is in good hands. We have a lot of good coaches and good players that are doing it the right way. A lot of young talent is coming in our program and other programs. Broward is one of the toughest counties to play in and that’s a big part of why we’re back-to-back state champions.”
The script for Saturday’s final began similar to last season with Aquinas struggling to hit the mark and Evans taking the early lead.
In the 2025 championship game, Evans built a 16-point edge before the Raiders came racing back to score a 71-63 victory.
Aquinas didn’t let things get that dire this time around.
After Evans took an early 12-3 lead, the Raiders put together a 10-2 run sparked by senior Zane Elliott, DJ Sandi and junior Nate Accius.
Elliott finished with 10 points and a game-high 17 rebounds while Sandi scored 10 points, and had eight rebounds and five assists.
Moments later with the game tied at 20, junior guard Clarence Westbrook Jr. sparked an 11-0 run that put Aquinas ahead for good.
Westbrook led all Raiders scorers with 21 points while KJ Sandi had 16 points.
“We’ve been there before,” Julius Sandi said. “The game is 32 minutes and you have to execute for 32 minutes. Five or six minutes of us not playing at our best, we didn’t panic. We knew what we had to do.”
Aquinas took control of the game from that point on and didn’t let Evans pull any closer than nine points. Even though the Raiders shot 34.9% from the field, they took 17 more shots than the Trojans. Aquinas consistently attacked the rim and capitalized when it went to the free throw line, shooting 18 of 23 from there.
Led by Elliott, the Raiders outrebounded Evans 43-28, including a 19-5 edge on offensive boards.
“We just knew if (Evans) got on a run, we just had to stay composed,” DJ Sandi said. “Last year, we got a little frantic because the stakes were high and it was our first time. We’re more veterans this year, and we knew how to stay composed and that helped us come back, take the lead, and now we’re state champs.”
