Gibbons, Ely cruise in Broward Big 8 opener
It’s hard enough to remain undefeated this late into the season and the playoffs looming on the horizon.
Add a national ranking and the target gets that much larger.
That’s what the boys’ basketball teams from Blanche Ely and Cardinal Gibbons faced in quarterfinal games at the Broward County Big 8 tournament Wednesday at Fort Lauderdale High.
Ely and Gibbons, ranked No. 12 and No. 15 respectively in the nation by USA Today, won their opening round games to advance to Friday’s semifinals.
The Tigers (20-0) defeated Douglas 74-32 behind 20 points from senior guard Jacee Rideau; junior guard Maverick Rowan scored 28 points to lead Gibbons (24-0) to a 83-67 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas.
Ely put Douglas (13-9) away early and held a 47-15 halftime lead. Senior Therrell Gosier was the highlight of the first half with four convincing dunks in the second quarter. He finished with 12 points. The lopsided victory was the seventh in which Ely defeated its opponent by 40 plus points even as the game went to a running clock shortly after the start of the third quarter after Ely opened on a 13-4 run for a 60-19 lead.
“We’re just going to continue to do what is working for us,” Ely coach Melvin Randall said. “We played hard but in doing so we made some mistakes.”
Cardinal Gibbons, ranked No. 1 in South Florida by the Miami Herald, held a 41-35 halftime lead before Rowan scored 15 points in the third quarter — including eight in the first minute — to open things up in the second half. The Chiefs, defending Big 8 champions, put Aquinas out of reach with a 31-16 third quarter. Aquinas trailed by 21 when the fourth quarter began.
“We came out with a big burst in the third quarter to put us up big,” Rowan said. “Any time you create that separation you want to make sure you don’t have turnovers that allows you to keep it.”
The other quarterfinal games will be played Thursday. The Dillard/Western winner will play Gibbons on Friday with Ely facing the McArthur/Pines Charter winner.
DAVE BROUSSEAU
BCAA Big 8 tournament
Cardinal Gibbons 83, St. Thomas Aquinas 67: CG (24-0): Morales 20, McIntosh 6, Rowan 28, Kacprazik 8, Brooks 15, Strong 3, Patrick 3. STA (15-8): Maturah 2, Marshall 26, Metzer 2, Hunter 6, Arnette 4, Akuchie 23, Vogelsang 4. Half: CG 41-35. Three-pointers: Rowan 4, Morales 3, Kacprazak, Strong, Marshall 4, Akuchie 3. Rebounds: Brooks 16.
Ely 74, Douglas 32: Ely (20-0): Gosier 12, Taylor 7, Houston 7, Scott 2, Wilson 13, Goodrum 5, Heastie 6, Simon 2, Rideau 20. Doug (13-9): Knecht 1, Merkle 4, Fraiman 2, Spadafora 2, Lemy 1, Pemberton 2, Jupiter 5, Rottenberg 1, Affatati 12, Abaev 2. Half: Ely 47-15. Three-pointers: Rideau 2, Wilson, Heastie.
MORE BOYS’ BASKETBALL
▪ Braddock 50, South Dade 34: SD: Vesey 11, Peel 7, Rivos 5, Torres 4, Pompey 3, Wilborn 2, Calloway 2. BR (11-10): E.Garcia 25, Ruiz 8, Diaz 7, Vigo-Franco 4, B.Acosta 2, Grant 2, M.Acosta 2. Half: BR 20-14. Three-Pointers: Torres, Pompey, E.Garcia 2.
▪ Monarch 62, West Broward 47: Mon: Elick 23, Booth 7, Allen 3, Richardson 12, Sheplon 3, Alfasa 2, Edound 9. WB: Grey 10, Aris 3, Toranzo 12, Shuyler 3, Stanley 6, Durante 6, Denovellis 4, Bellinger 2, Bahamon 1. Half: Mon 31-27. Three-pointers: Elick, Sheplon, Richardson 4, Aris, Toranzo, Grey 2.
▪ Coral Springs Charter 78, Coral Springs Christian 74 (OT): CSChar (13-5): Charles 2, Kinsey 24, Borders 15, Fraser 2, Vaughn 17, Hylton 8, Lee 10. CSChr: Quintero 5, Stewart 15, Prophete 14, Broadway 7, Talent 20, Maloku 4, Abadi 9. Half: CSChar 28-24.
▪ Hebrew Academy 74, Hillel 57: HA (13-5): Masin 22, Esformes 9, M.Bixon 12, Hochner 8, Wachtel 7, Diveroli 4, Yerushalmi 4, Portnoy 8. Hil: Kaswan 19, Borstyn 2, Beita 2, Klainbaum 8, Moskowitz 18, Ohayon 6. Half: HA 37-21. Three-pointers: Masin 2, Portnoy 2.
▪ American Prep 79, Ben Gamla Charter 26: AP (28-1): Black 3, Millien 4, Wilson 14, Courten 2, Formeza 8, Chevalier 13, Avery 30. Half: AP 33-13. Three-pointers: Curbelo, Avery.
GIRLS’ DISTRICT BASKETBALL
▪ 15-8A semifinal — Ferguson 58, Coral Gables 20: Fer (22-4): Perez 15, Osceola 12, Buitrago 10, Johnson 8, Rodriguez 5, Pineda 3, Sosa 2, Rosales 2, Justiniano 1. CGab: Landsberg 13, Howie 4, Lamadriz 2, Ellison 1. Half: Fer 50-11. Three-pointers: Buitrago 3, Landsberg 3, Osceola 2, Rodriguez.
▪ 15-8A semifinal — Lourdes 70, South Miami 34: SM: Garcia 2, Ka.Brown 14, Kh.Brown 18. Lou (20-3): Maristany 16, Minervino 9, Vidal 6, Kunkel 3, Couto 10, Midolo 9, Sanchez 3, Moralejo 10, Cambronne 4. Half: Lou 45-20. Three-pointers: Maristany 3, Minervino, Vidal 2, Couto 2, Sanchez, Moralejo.
▪ 14-8A semifinal — Hialeah 50, North Miami 43: Hia (13-9): A.Charles 21, S.Charles 14, Dormer 7, Betties 5, Celestine 2, Thimogene 2, Jones 1. NM: Gassant 6, Bernard 4, Fenelon 3, Gilles 6, Dailey 6, F.Seide 13, Theoc 2, G.Seide 6. Half: NM 25-23. Three-pointers: A.Charles 2, F.Seide 2, Gassant 2, S.Charles, Fenelon, Gilles, Dailey.
▪ 16-6A semifinal — Doral 36, Mater 33: Mat: Acosta 11,Galvez 11, Gonzalez 4, Hernandez 4, Jimenez 3. Dor (19-6): Llamo 2, Gomez 10, Arriete 3, Rondon 4, Vega 6, Barrios 10, Guerrero 3. Half: Mat 18-16. Three-pointers: Barrios 2, Arriete.
▪ 16-4A semifinal — Ransom Everglades 52, Keys Gate 36: RE: Lopez 12, Quanstrom 3, Stern 10, Oppenheim 5, Marlee Schatz 4, Hallman 10, Ajagbe 8. KG: Tyre 20, Velez 2, Moore 2, Denis 7, Dorsey 2, Sanchez 3. Half: KG 27-16. Three-pointers: Quanstrom, Oppenheim, Tyre.
▪ 15-4A semifinal — Booker T. Washington 44. LaSalle 34: BTW: Durant 8, Leite 14, Godwin 2, Bello 16. LAS: Xiques 2, Alfanso 2, Coreizo 17, DelaCruz 3, Cruz 8, Beinavidez 2.
▪ 15-4A semifinal — Pace 62, Edison 20: Ed (7-13): Wilcox 1, Michel 4, Wilcox 8, Raymond 7. Pace (16-3): Jenkins 1,Wilson 17, Samuel 2, Moye 8, Gay 24, Peticar 2, Rodriguez 8. Half: Pace 35-11. Three-pointers: Wilson 2, Rodriguez 2.
THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
GMAC final at Miami High: Central vs. Miami Beach, 7
BCAA Big 8 quarterfinals at Fort Lauderdale: McArthur vs. Pines Charter, 6:30; Dillard vs. Western, 8
GIRLS’ DISTRICT BASKETBALL
11-8A semifinals at Taravella: Coral Springs vs. Deerfield Beach, 5; Coral Glades-Douglas winner vs. Taravella, 7
16-8A final at Palmetto: 7
16-7A final at Central: 7
15-6A final at Carol City: 7
14-4A semifinals at Calvary Christian: Coral Springs Charter vs. University School, 5; Pine Crest-North Broward Prep winner vs. Calvary Christian, 7
16-4A semifinals at Ransom Everglades: St. Brendan-Key West winner vs. Florida Christian, 4; Ransom vs. Gulliver-Carrollton winner, 6
15-2A final at Miami Christian: 7
BOYS’ SOCCER
REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS
4-5A at Harris Field: Varela vs. Reagan, 4
4-5A at Traz: St. Thomas Aquinas vs. Dr. Krop, 4
4-5A at Milander: Coral Gables vs. Coral Reef, 6
4-5A: Flanagan at Cypress Bay, 7
3-5A: Palm Beach Central at Deerfield Beach, 7
3-5A: Monarch at Boca Raton, 7
4-4A: Pembroke Pines Charter at Belen, 3
4-4A at Traz: American vs. Mater Academy, 7:30
4-3A: Hallandale at Doral, 7
4-3A: Jackson at Plantation American Heritage, 7
4-2A: Ransom Everglades at Gulliver, 3:30
4-2A at Little Haiti Park: Edison vs. Westminster Christian, 7
4-2A at Pines Charter: Somerset vs. Oxbridge Academy, 7
4-2A: North Broward Prep at Delray American Heritage, 4
4-1A at Weston Regional Park: Sagemont vs. South Florida HEAT, 3:30
4-1A: Archimedean at Scheck Hillel, 7
4-1A at North Miami Stadium: Miami Country Day vs. SLAM Charter, 7
4-1A: Posnack at Westminster Academy, 7
This story was originally published January 28, 2015 at 11:38 PM with the headline "Gibbons, Ely cruise in Broward Big 8 opener."