Coral Gables boys’ basketball wins GMAC title with close win over Columbus
The Coral Gables boys’ basketball team staved off a furious fourth quarter comeback to edge visiting Columbus 77-72 in the Gold Division finals of the GMAC Tournament on Friday.
Trailing 60-45 to start the fourth quarter and with two starters fouling out, the Explorers still cut the deficit to three with 12 seconds remaining. Coral Gables then hung on for a five-point win and the GMAC title.
Desmond Romer helped key the victory with 21 points, six assists and four steals. Kuran Bryant had a good game with 22 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks, and Romulo Delgado totaled 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Marcos Molina added 10 points and four assists.
For Columbus (12-6), seniors Reggie Luis and Hubie Pivorius each scored a game-high 24 points, and freshman Malik Abdullahi added 14 points and 11 rebounds.
“We were playing well and got a lot better over the season,” Columbus second-year coach Andrew Moran said. “We just came out flat [against Coral Gables]. They played very physical, and they out rebounded us. Credit to them; they came out and smacked us.”
Columbus, which went 2-1 in the tournament, improved from last year’s GMAC event where it dropped an opening round game to South Miami. The Explorers entered Friday’s final on an eight-game win streak.
Moran added: “We didn’t share the ball [against Coral Gables] like we had been in those eight wins, but in the fourth quarter, we turned up the pressure and started sharing the ball. We had a couple of chances to tie the game on 3-pointers, but we didn’t hit them.”
Coral Gables went 3-0 in the tournament with victories also over North Miami and South Miami.
The GMAC Silver Bracket Championship Game between Miami Central and Braddock was canceled because of Covid issues.
Soccer playoffs
District soccer play begins for boys and girls this week on the road to state.
Covid made for an unusual season. We’ll see how the post-season figures.
In Broward, American Heritage, Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop McCarthy, Pines Charter, St. Thomas Aquinas and Cypress Bay are some of the teams to watch on the girls’ side. Boys’ teams to check include American Heritage, Cardinal Gibbons, Cypress Bay, Pines Charter, North Broward Prep, South Broward, and St. Thomas Aquinas.
In Miami Dade, GMAC Champ TERRA, Krop, Palmetto and MAST on the girls’ side, and GMAC Champ Krop, Miami Beach, St. Brendan on the boys’ side are some to keep an eye on.
Submit playoff scores and stats to hssports@miamiherald.com.
Girls’ Soccer
Palmer Trinity 2, Florida Christian 0: Lila Algarin 1 goal; Scarlett Baur 1 goal; Angelica Deribeaux 1 assist.
Boys’ Basketball
St. Brendan 78, Coral Park 69: SB: Gutierrez 18 pts, Alicea 13, Diaz 12, Kettle 9, Rodriguez 8, Alvarez 6, Tovar 5, Varela 2, Navarro 2. CP: Ali 14 pts, G.Fernandez 13, Gonzalez 12, J.Fernandez 12, Tirador 10, Perez 8. 3-ptrs: Gutierrez 4, Rodriguez 2, Alvarez 2, Tovar 1, Kettle 1, Varela 1.
Cardinal Gibbons 85, Nova 48: CG (15-3), N (1-6).
Girls’ basketball
North Miami 57, Palmetto 28: Carla Jean 25 points (4-of-10 three-pointers), 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks; Desiree Sinclair 25 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals.
Wrestling
BCAA Tournament: Deerfield Beach: Senior Kenneth Scott was outstanding, winning the 195-pound championship. He pinned his way to victory throughout the tournament; four of his five pins were in the first period. Last season, his first on varsity, he won a district title at 195.
BCAA Tournament: St. Thomas Aquinas: The Raiders were third overall, led by county champ Michael Moss (182). Brock Coburn, Skyler Hall and Jordan Smith each placed third. Carter Bass and Ethan Wigutow fourth; Frank Messina fifth; Michael Szymanik and Peter O’Neil sixth; Derek Groves seventh; Nicholas Rodriguez eighth.
Wrestling coaches
To nominate 2-3 top high school wrestlers of the week, email hssports@miamiherald.com. Include school, first and last name, weight class, what the wrestler did. Varsity only.
Football
Hialeah High: Daniel Sibilia and Jeremy Perez are signing with ASA Miami College, an affiliate of the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Submit varsity
game results
For high schools in Broward and Miami Dade counties, if you have varsity game results for this column, email hssports@miamiherald.com. Varsity only.
---
Roundup compiled by Jim Varsallone
(jvarsallone@miamiherald.com)
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 12:09 AM.
