Freshman-led Columbus wins thriller against No. 17 Dr. Phillips for first state title
Less than two seconds separated Columbus from its first boys’ basketball state championship and Orlando Dr. Phillips’ last shot arced in the air.
Garyn Bess had done all he could, bursting around two screens to leap and perfectly contest Denzel Aberdeen’s final three-pointer. Now all he could do was pray while the buzzer rang and the Explorers’ title hopes hung in the air.
The guard landed, turned his body to watch. He saw it was going on track and then he saw it go long. Columbus won 45-44.
“I was like, Oh snap,” the guard said, “we’re state champs.”
He held his hands against his head and watched from the other side of the RP Funding Center while his teammates mobbed Cayden Boozer, whose free throw a few seconds earlier gave the Explorers their final margin in Class 7A championship. On this team, the junior qualifies as the elder statesman — one of only two starters back from a year ago and the only upperclassman in the lineup — and he relished in the history the Explorers made.
In 62 years, Columbus had never won a boys’ basketball state championship until Saturday.
“They may be young,” coach Andrew Moran said, “but they play like veterans.”
It took a frantic final minute to get there, complete with Boozer’s game-winning free throw with 4.2 seconds left and a solid look at a potential game-winning shot by Aberdeen. The Explorers (29-2) blew an eight-point lead in the final minute before surviving to stun the No. 17 team in MaxPreps’ national rankings.
Boozer, a freshman guard, finished with nine points, including seven in the fourth quarter with the game-winning free throw. Bess did the dirty work with eight rebounds to go along with six points and his game-winning defensive play. To say this Columbus team came out of nowhere wouldn’t be entirely accurate — the Explorers did reach the Region 4-7A championship last year — but this was its first trip to the final four since 2011 and its first trip ever to a state title game, and Columbus did it by starting three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior.
Freshman wing Cameron Boozer, the twin brother of the heroic guard and the son of former All-NBA post player Carlos Boozer, paced the Explorers with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Freshman shooting guard Benny Fragela, the third freshman scored six and hit a clutch three at the end of the third quarter to cap a crucial 8-0 run for Columbus. Sophomore wing Malik Abduallahi — the only other starter back from last year — added seven points and six rebounds.
Dr. Phillips, which boasts three seniors who have signed national letters of intent with Power 5 conference schools, shot just 12 of 38 from the field against the young Explorers and only Aberdeen scored in double figures.
“In the preseason, we played a lot of high-major teams,” Cayden Boozer said. In the end, it prepared Columbus to battle one of the best teams in the country in Lakeland and the Explorers were mostly unfazed by the challenge.
Columbus never trailed in the first half and only once in the second for all of 3:33 after an 8-0 run gave the Panthers (26-6) a 27-24 lead with four minutes left in the third quarter. The Explorers closed the quarter on their own 8-0 run, though, and never trailed again.
The three freshmen powered the critical burst, starting with Cayden Boozer making a circus reverse layup off a turnover. Cameron Boozer then finished an and-one dunk through contact, and finished the third by driving and kicking to Fragela for a corner three.
“I knew that we were going to become a great team,” Bess said, “when they walked into the gym.”
Those three have been AAU teammates since second grade with Nightrydas Elite and they brought instant chemistry to Columbus, elevating the Explorers to unmatched heights.
Cameron Boozer, who already has a scholarship offer from the Miami Hurricanes, carried Columbus through the first three quarters on offense, then gave up control in the fourth to his brother, who answered all three times Dr. Phillips cut the lead to two before the final minute.
With 1:10 left, the Panthers were down 44-36 and called a timeout to try to draw up a miracle comeback, and it almost worked. Dr. Phillips scored eight straight points while Columbus committed a turnover, flubbed a layup and missed the front end of a one-and-one.
After a three by Aberdeen tied the game 44-44 with 13 seconds left, Cayden Boozer took the ball again and rushed down the court, drawing a foul as he got ready to go to the basket for a potential game-winning shot.
Instead, he hit a go-ahead free throw to put the Explorers ahead 45-44. With a foul to give, Columbus bumped Aberdeen to force the Panthers to inbound with 1.2 seconds left and the star guard’s final shot went awry.
Explorers sprinted in all different directions. Some pumped up the fans who made the trip to Miami. Some went right for Boozer.
Moran just kept jumping up and down. At the start of the year, he heard the same refrain too frequently: This team was too young; wait a year and then it’ll be time to really contend.
“Coach said before when we were talking in the beginning, ‘F— next year,’” Cameron Boozer said — he didn’t specify whether Moran said the letter or the word. “’It’s this year. We want it this year.’
“Next year, we’re going to come back stronger and we’re going to keep working. ... We’re going to keep pushing and try to push for a national name, up the national leaderboards, top team in the nation.”
This story was originally published March 5, 2022 at 9:55 PM.
