Nationally ranked Winter Park and Dwyer are among the top teams to watch this week in Florida, which will stage its finals Thursday and Saturday at the Lakeland Center in Lakeland.
Dwyer Staked To Huge Lead, Cruises To 72-57 Victory Over Lake Wales In Florida Class 5A Title Game
Winter Park (26-5) is the defending Class 6A champion, and each of its five losses are to out-of-state teams. The team is led by Duke-signee Austin Rivers, a 6-3 senior that Scout.com ranks as the No. 1 shooting guard prospect in the nation. Another guard, Brett Comer, is headed to Florida Atlantic.
Dwyer (30-1) of Palm Beach Gardens also has multiple national rankings and should be the favored team in 4A. Jacoby Brissett - a 6-4 guard who has signed with Florida as a football player -- had a monster game of 17 points, nine rebounds, nine steals and seven assists in the Class A regional final against Palm Bay last week, a 91-55 victory. Dwyer's only loss was to Winter Park.
Orlando Christian Prep and Rickards of Tallahassee also are defending champions.
Games begin Wednesday with semifinal matchups in divisions 1A, 2A and 3A, followed by championships throughout the day Thursday. Friday, the large school divisions take center stage with class 4A, 5A and 6A semifinals scheduled. Games conclude on Saturday with three more state championship games.
Florida at a Glance:
Wednesday, March 2
1A semifinals
10 a.m. - FAMU (Tallahassee) vs. Grandview Prep (Boca Raton)
11:30 a.m. - Orlando Christian Prep vs. Summit Christian (West Palm Beach)
2A semifinals
2:30 p.m. - Port St. Joe vs. Sagemont (Weston)
4 p.m. - First Academy (Orlando) vs. Tampa Prep
3A semifinals
7 p.m. - Rickards (Tallahassee) vs. Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale)
8:30 p.m. - Jones (Orlando) vs. Tampa Catholic
Thursday, March 3
12:05 p.m. - 1A Championship
3:35 p.m. - 2A Championship
7:05 p.m. - 3A Championship
Friday, March 4
4A semifinals
10 a.m. - Palatka vs. Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale)
11:30 a.m. - Fort Walton Beach vs. Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens)
5A semifinals
2:30 p.m. - Leesburg vs. Blake (Tampa)
4 p.m. - Dr. Phillips (Orlando) vs. Miramar
6A semifinals
7 p.m. - Winter Park vs. Columbus (Miami)
8:30 p.m. - Lake Wales vs. Gibbs (St. Petersburg)
Saturday, March 5
12:05 p.m. - Class 4A Championship
3:35 p.m. - Class 5A Championship
7:05 p.m. - Class 6A Championship
Dwyer Dominance, 6A Title Rematch Headline Saturday’s Florida Finals
Summit Christian Takes School’s First State Title, Beats Grandview 62-50
Summit Christian stifled Class 1A’s highest scoring team and won its first state championship in basketball Thursday, beating Grandview Prep 62-50 in a final between Palm Beach County teams.
Farad Cobb led Summit Christian (28-4) with 20 points, the same total he had in the semifinals, when Summit Christian came from six points down in the fourth quarter to beat three-time defending champion Orlando Christian Prep 42-41.
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Hoops Recruit Eddie Odio Leads Columbus (FL) To First State Final Four
Boston College recruit Eddie Odio has helped his Columbus Explorers HS team advance to the school’s first ever Florida State Final Four, after capturing the Region 4-6A title with a 65-50 win over Hialeah-Miami Lakes.
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