Columbus basketball upholds its lofty standard as it chases record-setting title
The Columbus basketball team arrived at the state final four for the fifth consecutive season on Friday, but for the first time without stars Cameron and Cayden Boozer.
Once their Class 7A state semifinal against Lake Mary started, though, the Explorers’ brand of dominant basketball didn’t look all that different from what it has in years past.
Columbus scored the game’s first 15 points and never led by less than nine points for the rest of its 68-42 rout, which secured the Explorers a fifth consecutive trip to the state final.
“We’re just super excited to be here and we’re not taking it for granted,” said Columbus coach Jorge Milo, who is in his first season as head coach after serving as an assistant coach for the past four seasons under former coach Andrew Moran. “We have a mature group that understands and continues to set the standard for this team and our guys came out with a lot of energy.”
The Explorers (25-6), ranked 21st nationally and second overall in the state, won a national championship last season before the Boozer twins graduated and enrolled at Duke University.
Columbus next has a chance to make more history if it can extend its title run when it faces Sarasota (25-6) on Saturday at 5 in the 7A final. The Sailors upset Orlando Oak Ridge in the other semifinal on Friday.
The Explorers can become the first Miami-Dade County team to win five state titles in a row and match the state record shared by Jacksonville Arlington Country Day and Malone.
“It’s incredible,” Milo said. “Every chance you get to impact history, it’s special and our goal is to raise another banner in our gym. We’ve taken the ego out of it and it’s not about me, it’s about us. The guys before us set the standard and we follow it and we have to set it for the next group. I’m really excited for our guys to get that feeling of what it’s like to play for a championship.”
The post-Boozer era has seen Columbus blend a mix of returning talent that was part of their recent championships while welcoming key additions, who have propelled the Explorers back to the brink of another title.
Senior forward Caleb Gaskins, a University of Miami signee and McDonald’s All-American, is at the forefront of those returners, and showed his leadership again Friday at both ends of the floor.
Gaskins finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and two assists. He and senior guard Cello Jackson, a Memphis commit who had nine points, six assists and five rebounds, have been instrumental in the team gelling and finding its stride down the stretch.
“We prepared two straight weeks for this, and we had a mindset to dominate from the beginning and not let them have any life and that’s what we did,” Gaskins said. “We have a special group and five in a row is something special. It’s time for us to do it.”
Two of the biggest additions - literally and figuratively - have been 7-1 junior center Akol Nyok and 6-5 senior guard Felipe Quinones.
Quinones, an FAU signee, initially showed off his prowess as a sharp shooter this season, but has developed into a solid defender and can stretch the floor with quickness and ability to run the floor and attack the rim as well.
He finished with a game-high 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Sophomore Jordan Fisher, another newcomer this season, also had nine points and three steals.
“Felipe is very poised and a high-IQ player,” Milo said. “He gets his team involved and gets his teammates involved and finds mismatches.
“We have one of the best freshmen on this team who is an X-factor (Cayden Gaskins) and brings a lot of energy. And a great sophomore in Fisher, who is a 3-point threat and an excellent defender and rebounder. We have that good mix and they’ve been connecting all season.”
Nyok has proven he isn’t just tall.
He’s been an imposing defensive presence and an effective scorer in the paint. On Friday, Nyok delivered a highlight dunk on an alley-oop where he barely had to jump, but instead just reached for the ball with his lengthy wingspan and dropped it through the cylinder. He finished with 10 points, three rebounds and two blocks.
“Having (Nyok) on the bottom, teams have to respect him as a lob threat,” Gaskins said. “Felipe can space the floor and shoot at a high clip so that spreads the floor allowing me to do what I do.”
This story was originally published March 13, 2026 at 4:37 PM.
