Columbus cruises to continue bid for historic fifth straight state title
As Columbus High’s boys’ basketball players huddled at midcourt with arms raised together in the center after Saturday night’s 76-58 triumph against Coral Glades in the Class 7A-Region 4 final at FIU Arena, head coach Jorge Milo delivered a simple message: “We’re not done yet.”
The Explorers (24-6) are two wins away from capturing their fifth consecutive state title, a feat that would tie the state’s all-time best title streak and set the record for a Miami-Dade County school.
“We’re trying to get that five-peat,” senior guard Felipe Quinones said. “We’re working really hard for it day by day. And we’re excited we’re going back to states.”
“This is a great feeling,” added senior forward Caleb Gaskins. “It’s crazy to think where we were a year ago, in the same gym playing for the same thing. This is all great and all, but I feel like we’re playing for something bigger.
“We want to win a national championship again. That’s our goal, and we want to continue to work at that. So, we focus on bigger things, keeping the main thing the main thing. Now it’s all about grinding the next two weeks to get this next state championship.”
Quinones scored 19 points, including 14 in the first half, and Gaskins, a McDonald’s All-American and University of Miami signee, tallied 16 to lead the Explorers. Gaskins’ younger brother, freshman forward Cayden Gaskins, scored 15 points off the bench, nine of which came in first half.
“I talked to him before the game, and he said when got in he was going to turn it up and he did that exact thing so I’m just super happy for him,” said Caleb Gaskins. “His energy was a big turning point for us in the game. He came in and made an immediate impact.”
Swingman Jordan Fisher (12 points) and 7-foot-1 center Akol Nyok (10 points) also scored in double figures.
Coral Glades senior guard Kyler Theophile, a Kennesaw State signee, led all scorers with 26 points. Point guard Gavin Reed, who had 12 points, was Coral Glades’ only other scorer in double figures. Leading 16-14 early in the second period, Columbus ripped off a 14-0 run, with Cayden Gaskins and Quinones combining for 12 of those points. Caleb Gaskins had two impressive assists, one after making a steal, another on an alley-oop pass to his brother.
“We came out trapping in the second quarter, had a couple of turnovers — obviously we want to get out and run because we have some athletes — and after that, we never really looked back,” Milo said.
Said Caleb Gaskins: “We got multiple stops in a row, got scoring in transition, and they just couldn’t come back from it.”
Columbus outscored Coral Glades by 12 in the second period, taking a 39-21 lead into halftime. The lead ballooned to 23 points early in the fourth period on Quinones’ third 3-pointer of the night.
“The first shot I took [Saturday] I missed looked really good, so I just kept shooting,” he said. “I’ve got the confidence from my teammates and coaches, so they told me to just keep shooting and that’s what I did.”
Milo described his team as “locked in” Saturday. They shared the basketball and defended well, “and when we’re doing it with some attitude as well, we’re tough to beat,” he noted.
“The goal is to win five in a row,” he reiterated. “I don’t think it’s ever been in done in our class[ification]. But we’re also enjoying the process one day at a time with these guys. … We’re going to enjoy tonight and then back in the lab.”