Deerfield Beach boys beat Cypress Bay 59-56, advance to regional basketball semifinals | Miami Herald

Justice Taylor administered his own brand of justice by scoring 10 points in overtime as Deerfield Beach upset Cypress Bay 59-56 in Weston on Thursday night. The Bucks will advance to the regional semifinals next week.

Taylor, a sophomore, lead all scorers with 20 points. He made six free throws in the extra period to put the game away.

“My coaches told me to get more aggressive and to take it to the hole,” Taylor said. “I knew that if I brought it strong it would either go in or they would foul me. Either way it would work out.”

Deerfield Beach coach Kenneth Brown was comfortable having the ball in Taylor’s hands when it counted.

“He works so hard in practice and practices his free throws every day,” Brown said. “He is our best free throw shooter and he came through in a big game for us when it counted.”

Taylor also had an assist on the shot that tied it up in regulation with one second remaining. Center Jahmad Wilburn nailed a three-pointer from the right side of the key that tied the game at 43-43.

“That shot is my specialty,” Wilburn said. “I like to dial up from out there and I work in it every day. Coach encourages us to shoot if we are open, and I felt good about it when I let it go.”

Brown agreed with his big man.

“We let our big men shoot the basketball,” Brown said. “I am just glad that he nailed it. I had confidence in the young man.”

▪  Region 4-4A quarterfinal — Monsignor Pace 61, Ransom Everglades 46: The Raiders hoped previous success slowing down Pace’s fast-break style of play would help them emerge with an upset.

Pace (21-9) ended those hopes in the second half thanks to sharp-shooting and the ability to capitalize in transition.

The Spartans will host Booker T. Washington in a regional semifinal Tuesday at 7 p.m.

“We had seen them at the end of the regular season, so we knew what to expect,” Pace coach Anthony Serro said. “Sometimes it’s tough when things go well early, but our kids stuck to what they do well and we imposed our style of play on them.”

Sebastian Jean led the Spartans with 18 points, six rebounds and six steals. C.J. Fisher finished with 10 points and five assists.

Ransom’s Jack Woolworth led all scorers with 32 points.

ANDRE C. FERNANDEZ

▪ Region 4-8A quarterfinal -- McArthur 70, Miami High 57: McArthur led by as many as 24 and withstood a 22-4 third-quarter Miami High run to prevail 70-57 at home on Thursday.

The Mustangs (24-7) used their length, energy and athleticism to jump out to the big first-half lead and made a living at the charity stripe late, making 12 of 20 fourth-quarter free throws.

“It really just took ball control, kind of being patient offensively instead of trying to rush the speed of the game,” McArthur coach Warren Gale said. “I don’t really see too many teams that have the depth of athleticism, size and speed that we have.”

Derric Jean, Sandro Noel, Terrell Turner and Felix Rivera-Vega all finished in double figures for McArthur, which advances to a regional semifinal against Miami Beach, a team the Mustangs beat in the same round last season to reach regional finals.

Miami High (15-10) got 17 points and 15 rebounds from forward Jerald Butler and 16 points from Malcolm Nicholas Jr.

DAVID FURONES

▪ Region 4-8A quarterfinal — Miami Beach 63, Flanagan 55: Miami Beach sophomore center Zach Brown scored a game-high 22 points and blocked six shots as the host Hi-Tides halted a second-half Flanagan rally in a 63-55 victory in a rematch of last year’s Class 8A regional quarterfinal.

Junior guard Nate Johnson added 14 points with four of Miami Beach’s nine three-pointers. Junior forward Charles Goetz contributed 12 points and game highs in rebounds (nine) and assists (five).

After one quarter, the teams were tied at 18. The Hi-Tides held the Falcons scoreless for nearly five minutes as they built an 11-point lead to open the second. By halftime, they held a 39-23 advantage.

But Flanagan responded with a 13-5 run in the third quarter, eventually trimming the deficit to 10 entering the fourth. The Falcons got within one point at 53-52 with under three minutes remaining. Miami Beach, however, closed on a 10-3 run sparked by Goetz’s three-pointer from the top of the key and his alley-oop to Brown.

Senior guard Keavon Mitchell led the Falcons with 14 points as six players scored points for Flanagan. Senior forward Randall Ferdinand added 13.

The Hi-Tides advance for the second straight year to the regional semifinal where they will face the winner of Miami High and McArthur. Last year, McArthur beat Miami Beach.

CHRISTINA DE NICOLA

▪ Region 4-6A quarterfinal — Norland 46, Doral Academy 38: Norland star Dewan Huell had heckling defenders swarm him in the paint every possession as Doral battled to tie the Vikings seven times and hold a brief lead before falling 46-38 Thursday in a region 4-6A quarterfinal.

“They doubled him every time he touched it,” Vikings coach Lawton Williams said. “We didn’t make the proper adjustments. We have to practice tomorrow. That’s the only thing that matters. Everybody in the playoffs is serious. All their games are low-scoring and close. Historically, my teams always struggle in this game.”

Huell led the three-time defending 6A champion Vikings (19-8) with 14 points. Tyrik Waite had eight points, and Ernel Foster had four points and six assists in the win. Huell dominated the first quarter before Doral tightened up and tied the game at 21 at halftime. The Firebirds then took a 29-27 lead into the final frame and pushed the lead to four before the Vikings closed them out with an 11-0 run.

The Firebirds (19-9) had no players in double figures. The Vikings face Mater Academy in a region 4-6A semifinal.

“I really haven’t had three guys come at me like that like I did tonight,” Huell said. “We are going to prepare for that in practice this week. We did not expect that from them. We held up and had too big of a head. But we wanted it.”

ALEX BUTLER

▪ Region 4-4A quarterfinal — Booker T. Washington 59, Gulliver Prep 48: Malik Brown scored 16 points to lead visiting Booker T. Washington to a 59-48 win against Gulliver Prep in a Class 4A boys’ basketball regional quarterfinal Thursday night.

Backcourt mate Michael Bunett added 15 points and five assists as the Tornadoes (18-7) advanced to face Monsignor Pace next Tuesday.

“We feel pretty good right now,” said Booker T. Washington coach Jarrett Forbes. “We had a lot of adversity throughout the season, but we pulled together and we’re excited about that.”

Seven players scored for Booker T. Washington, including Pierre Thelon, who had six points, as well as a game-high 12 rebounds. Justin Perez led Gulliver Prep (16-12) with 14 points. Ryan Heckaman and Mitch Pattullo notched 10 points apiece.

Joe Jackson had eight points and a team-high seven rebounds but played only five minutes in the second half before fouling out early in the fourth period.

Leading 28-23 in the third, Booker T. Washington outscored Gulliver Prep 27-7 to seize control. Keith Stewart’s two-handed dunk over two Gulliver defenders early during that run elicited a wild celebration from Booker T.’s bench.

“We’ve been able to win [with a roster limited by injuries], but how many hits can you take?” said Gulliver coach Manny Bloom. “With Jo-Jo getting in foul trouble, we didn’t have many options.”

STEVE GORTEN

▪ Region 4-7A quarterfinal — Blanche Ely 79, Lake Worth 71: Therrell Gosier scored a season-high 31 points with a dominant inside game as the nationally ranked and undefeated Tigers held off a game Trojans squad at Blanche Ely.

Guards LaQuincy Rideau scored 19 and Mark Houston added 14, with most of the damage coming in the first quarter when Houston hit three consecutive three-point jumpers during the first quarter to help erase Lake Worth’s brief lead in the opening minute.

“It was very important when Mark hit those threes early because I was getting double-teamed early,” said the 6-6 Gosier, who recently signed a letter of intent to play football at the University of Kentucky. “When he made those threes, it opened up my game underneath.”

The Tigers (24-0) will face Dwyer in Saturday’s FHSAA round of 16.

After leading 44-34 at halftime, Blanche Ely eventually stretched its lead to 15 at 49-34 at the 4:30 mark in the third following Houston’s fourth three-point jumper of the game.

The Trojans (19-9) battled back and kept the lead to under 10 throughout the fourth quarter. Their biggest push came with 1:08 left, when they closed the game to 72-68.

But the Tigers responded with their biggest stop of the game when Houston made a steal at mid-court on the ensuing Lake Worth possession, leading to the Tigers converting six of seven free throws in the final 41 seconds to seal the win.

CONCEPCION LEDEZMA

▪ Region 4-5A quarterfinal — Cardinal Gibbons 63, Melbourne Palm Bay 43: Junior forward Maverick Rowan scored a game-high 24 points to lead host Cardinal Gibbons in a 63-43 rout over Palm Bay.

Cardinal Gibbons (29-1) went on an 18-0 run in the first quarter after the Pirates sank two three-pointers to take a 6-0 lead to start the game. Palm Bay (14-9) cut the Chiefs’ lead to six in the second quarter but never posed a serious threat to the No. 14-ranked team in the country by USA Today.

Led by senior guard Jose Morales and Rowan, the Chiefs harassed Palm Bay all night on defense, forcing 19 turnovers. Cardinal Gibbons was up double-digits for most of the second half, and by as many as 22 in the fourth quarter.

“[We played] a little sloppy, actually,” said Rowan, the 26th ranked junior in the country, according to ESPN. “You can never be too good as a team.”

Junior forward Tywan Alves led the Pirates with 13 points and four rebounds.

Cardinal Gibbons plays the winner of Dillard vs. Suncoast in the regional semifinals 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

MARK SINGER

▪ Region 4-7A quarterfinal — St. Thomas Aquinas 58, American 44: Hialeah American had their Shaq and Kobe show, but it wasn’t enough to stop St. Thomas Aquinas and its less heralded namesakes from advancing to the regional semifinals.

Aquinas’ Mike Akuchie came alive for 10 of his 13 points in the pivotal first quarter, and Hank Hunter scored eight of host Aquinas’ 13 third-quarter points as the Raiders coasted in the regional quarterfianals on Thursday.

Aquinas first-year coach Bryan White, a former All-State player for Aquinas, has instilled a spread-the-wealth philosophy, which has made the Raiders a dilemma for opponents to game-plan for.

“We have six guys averaging seven or more points,” said White. “I told these guys before the season that no one will average 20 points a game. I think that is what has carried us to 18 wins. Anyone shows up any different night. Next time, it will be somebody else.”

On Thursday, it was Hunter (16 rebounds) and the 6-7 Akuchie (15 rebounds) stepping to the forefront. Akuchie’s layin off a lookaway pass from Brandon Marshall helped Aquinas build a commanding 17-4 first-quarter lead.

American’s Kobe Johnson (12 points) and Shaq Harris (12 points) sparked an 11-4 run in the third quarter that cut the Aquinas lead to 46-38 with 4:50 left, but Matt Maturah (12 points) doused the Patriots’ rally for good with a three-pointer.

Marshall added nine points for the Raiders.

FABIAN LYON

▪ Region 4-6A quarterfinal — Pines Charter 73, Port St. Lucie 36: Pines Charter six-year coach Dave Roca won his 100th game as his Jaguars blitzed Port St. Lucie 73-36 Thursday in the regional semifinals at Flanagan.

“It’s humbling,” Roca said after he was presented a signed ball by his players. “I had no clue they were going to do that at the end of the game. This doesn’t define us. What defines us is the impact we have on the school and the community.”

The impact Pines Charter (18-8) had on their counterpart Jaguars (11-14) was humbling in a different way, what with its up-tempo pressure defense that forced a running clock midway through the third quarter. Pines Charter had 20 steals, using its full-court press to open up a 22-3 lead in the first quarter in a game that was never in doubt.

Marquette recruit Haanif Cheatham scored 22 of his 24 points in the first half and had five rebounds, five assists and four steals. Patrick Eugene had 10 points, seven boards and four blocks. Matthew Johnson had 14 points.

“They really appreciate playing defense,” Roca said. “It’s gonna be difficult for guys to get the ball up the floor.”

Pines Charter will play the winner of the Stranahan-South Fork semifinal Tuesday at Flanagan in the regional final.

JIM MCCURDY

▪ Region 4-6A quarterfinal — Mater Academy 62, Miami Springs 37: The Lions started the game with a 12-0 run and never looked back in a Region 4-6A quarterfinal win over the Hawks (18-9) Thursday night at Mater Academy.

“We are just taking it one game at a time. They were a good team, but we just kept moving the ball,” said Abraham Kurnick, who had a game-high with 20 points.

Kurnick scored 10 points in the first quarter, and Mater (23-5) led 16-8 at the end of the period. The Lions had a 9-0 run in the second quarter and led 35-20 at halftime.

Late in the third quarter, a fast-break dunk by Raul Frias got the home fans out of their seats and put Mater up 47-24.

Next Tuesday, Mater will face Norland in the Region 4-6A semifinal.

Jesus Alfonso led Miami Springs with 18 points and four three-pointers. Frias had 13 points and Chris Mejia had 14 points with four three-pointers.

DARREN COLLETTE