Columbus basketball team extends winning streak, wins third consecutive GMAC crown
When you’re the No. 1 team in the nation (MaxPreps), No. 2 in the ESPN national poll and the two-time reigning 7A state champions with designs on winning a national championship, winning a GMAC title probably seemed like small potatoes for the Columbus basketball team.
But the Explorers, who lost four of their first 10 games albeit against a tough national schedule, came out with plenty of enthusiasm and intensity on Saturday night as they jumped out to a big early lead against Miami High and cruised to an 81-51 victory in the boys’ GMAC championship game at Miami-Dade College’s Kendall campus gym.
The win marked the 13th straight for Columbus which improved to 19-4 and its third consecutive GMAC championship.
The Explorers did it the way their coach Andrew Moran likes to see it – by sharing the ball and sharing the points as five different players finished in double figures.
The Boozer twins, Cayden and Cameron, along with Jaxson Richardson all finished with 15 points apiece while Jase Richardson had 14. Malik Abdullahi had 10 points to round out the double figure quintet.
“We definitely like to see that, we always want to share the ball,” Moran said. “Obviously down the line, we’re going to play even better teams and we need to be fresh and ready to go into the playoffs. It’s great that we’ve been sharing the ball and moving it around and that’s who we want to continue to grow.”
Columbus broke free from an early 7-5 lead with 15 straight points to lead 22-5 after one quarter and eventually built the lead to 25 by halftime, 42-17. The only drama left in the second half was to see if the Explorers could get the margin to 35 and prompt a running clock which they never did, never leading by less than 24 or more than 32.
“We’re just trying to get better every game we come out and keep building,” said Cayden Boozer, who also finished with six assists, two steals and two rebounds. “Having everyone involved is going to make us be the best team we can possibly be down the stretch. We want to be our best version of what we are in February and March when it counts the most.”
Cameron Boozer led the way for the Explorers under the boards with 10 rebounds while Jase Richardson had seven steals. Absolan Cortes was the best player on the court for Miami High, which fell to 18-6, as he led all scorers in the game with 20 points.