LAKELAND, FL-- Heading into Saturday afternoon,
there had only been two boy's basketball State
Champions in the history of Southwest Florida,
which for us is the area stretching from Bradenton
down through Naples, and there had never been one
for a school from Charlotte through Collier county.
However, on Saturday in Lakeland, the Fort Myers
Green Wave broke through that elusive finish line
to capture the FHSAA Class 4A State Championship
with a 59-57 win over Orlando based Oak Ridge
Pioneers. They allowed the game to get almost a
little too close for comfort late though, thanks to
going just 3 for 10 from the foul line in the last
minute and 30 seconds, and making a few mental
mistakes.
From the start of the game though, Fort Myers was making believers of everyone in attendance that they were indeed the real deal. Jumping out to as much as a 18-7 lead in the first period behind the a couple key treys from 6'5 junior wing Matt Yance, and the great aggressive play early on by senior guard Terran "Buddy" McClendon, who had 9 of his game-high 20 points in the opening stanza. Fort Myers was doing a good job of implementing their style of play, using their full court press to get some early steals and using a team mentality inside to slow down Oak Ridge big man, 6'9 Georgia signee Cady Lalanne.
The Wave went into the second quarter with a 22-13 lead.
In the second quarter however, Fort Myers would run into a bit of foul trouble thanks in part to the increased effectiveness inside by Lalanne. Oak Ridge used a 13-4 run over the first 6 minutes of the second period to tie the game at 26 apiece. In the process of the big Oak Ridge run, Fort Myers had 4 starters pick up at least 2 fouls, limiting the Wave players in their ability to be as aggressive defensively.
Fort Myers however would outscore the Pioneers 5-0 over the final two minutes of the half to take a 31-26 advantage into the mid way break.
In the the third, with just over six minutes showing on the clock, Fort Myers made their move to try and take control of the game again. Yance hit another trey from the wing, his third of the game, which started a 8-0 run for the Wave. The run was capped by a coast to coast driving finger roll by Graham, and then a tough putback inside by 6'7 senior forward Josue Celestin to put his team up 41-29 with just over three minutes left in the quarter.
Throughout the third period, the Wave were able to keep their guys from adding much to their foul totals, but Lalanne for Oak Ridge was in and out of the game due to having 3 fouls early in the period. Fort Myers would cap the quarter with a big pull up three from Graham with a defender draped all over him, sending his squad into the final quarter with their biggest lead of the game, 49-35.
The fourth quarter would see the Wave keep their lead around the 9 point margin, up until the last couple minutes where it seemed just about everything possible was starting to go in Oak Ridge's favor.
Fort Myers did not do a ton to combat the increased intensity by the Pioneers, as they had plenty of opportunities to ice the game if they could have just made more free throws down the stretch, going just 3 for 10 from the stripe over the final 1:30 of the fourth.
To make matters worse, senior forward Colin Henry fouled out with just under 2 minutes remaining, taking a key starter and rebounder off of the court in crunch time.
A couple missed free throws and turnovers by Fort Myers later, followed by a pair of made free throws by Oak Ridge senior forward Corey Billingslea, the score was back to 57-54 in Fort Myers favor still, with 51 seconds left. On the play that sent Billingslea to the line, Yance was called for his 5th foul, sending another key ball-handler and foul shooter out of the game for Fort Myers.
Graham was then fouled, and proceeded to make just one of two free throws, but increasing the lead to an always important two possession score of 58-54 with 43 seconds remaining.
On the ensuing possession, Lalanne hit a short hook shot to cut it to 58-56.
Fort Myers' senior forward Tyler Manning would then be fouled and have his chance at the line, but missed both.
Lalanne would go back to work on Oak Ridge's next possession, gobbling up a offensive rebound and getting fouled on his attempt to put the shot back up. He then made 1 of 2 free throws to cut the lead to 58-57 with 14 seconds left on the clock.
Surprisingly, the Pioneers chose not to foul on the ensuing inbounds, but instead just brought heavy full court pressure, which was enough to cause an errant pass out of bounds by McClendon with 9 seconds remaining.
And this is where we cue the scene for the unsung heroes for Fort Myers.
Oak Ridge inbounded the ball, and looked to get it back inside to Lalanne. However, Celestin came up with the play of the season for the Wave, tipping the pass attempt away, where senior James Joseph would secure it and be fouled with just under 4 seconds left.
As Joseph headed to the line, the pressure mounted as he would have the chance to give the Wave some breathing room but if he missed both foul shots, would potentially give Oak Ridge the ball back with a chance to win with a layup.
Joseph missed the first, and the pressure increased by about 1000%. Joseph calmly proceeded though to knock down the second shot, which would in turn seal the game.
Oak Ridge inbounded the ball, and O'Neil Lubin was able to get a runner off from just inside the three-point line at the buzzer but had to do so with Joseph waiting to take the charge and that was just enough to alter the shot, as it hit off the back rim and the horn sounded.
The Fort Myers bench stormed the court and were crowned the State Champions of the third largest class in Florida.
McClendon led all scorers with 20 points on 5-10 field goals, including 2-4 from deep, while also adding 5 rebounds and 5 steals. Yance and Graham scored 12 and 11 points respectively, while Graham added 6 steals, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
Lalanne led Oak Ridge with 17 points and 6 blocks, but was held to just 6 rebounds. Antonio Ansley added 12 for the Pioneers, and Lubin chipped in with 11, however Lubin also committed 14 turnovers thanks to the Fort Myers defense.
Fort Myers started the season as SWFL Hoops #1 team, they were #1 in 4A for a majority of the season in all of Florida as well, but what matters most in the end is the fact they are officially the #1 team in 4A, not chosen by voters, but by doing it on the court.
Fort Myers is Bringing Home the 4A State Title Trophy to Lee County
March 6, 2010
Aaron Seybert
SWFLHoops.com
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