Boys Basketball: Gateway Charter, Barron Collier, Palmetto Ridge, Mariner, Gateway win

A roundup of boys' regional basketball games played on Thursday, February 16.

Class 3A-Region 3

Gateway Charter 76, First Baptist 67 (OT)

The Griffins and the Lions put together a trilogy that won’t soon be forgotten in Southwest Florida.

Facing off for the third time in three weeks – and just six days after the district title game won by Gateway Charter – it looked for all the world that First Baptist would get their revenge.

The team led by 15 points at halftime and 10 with less than 2 minutes to go in Thursday’s Class 2A regional quarterfinal.

From there, Gateway Charter senior Jahmari Johnson manufactured an astounding comeback that raised the volume of the Griffins’ gym to deafening levels – particularly when he hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.

Gateway Charter head coach RJ Jones had one prevailing thought when he saw it fall through: “We got this.”

“When he hit that shot— it’s been a long time for this team, these guys that have been here for more than one year, it’s just nice for one to go their way for once,” Jones said. “We’ve missed a lot of those in the past.”

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Johnson finished the game with 37 points, including 26 in the fourth quarter and overtime combined.

“I just didn’t want my season to end,” he said. “I’m a senior, so emotion just kicked in.”

The Lions sprinted out to an early lead attacking the paint as the Griffins struggled to defend. Latrell Davis, Yohandry Ortiz and Jayden Petit found success in transition and with second-chance buckets.

Gateway Charter’s big man Patrick Johnson was assessed three fouls in the first quarter, compounding the Griffins’ problems.

Jones said he knew his team could draw from a couple come-from-behind wins earlier this season. His players were not deterred by the halftime deficit.

“I walked in the locker room – no one was nervous,” Jones said. “Everyone was just heads up, ready to go and, ‘What are we going to do next coach? How are we going to fix it?’”

It started on defense – though the Griffins had success playing zone against the Lions in their previous contests, they made the switch to man to try to fight back into the game.

Shots started falling, too, particularly from beyond the arc. “Sixth man” Arronington Nau and Jahmari Johnson could not miss from 3 in crunch time.

Jones said Nau was frustrated by his lack of minutes in the team’s previous game – he told the senior to “stay ready.”

“That boy does not get enough credit,” Jones said. “He shoots at a Division I clip – he’s just not big enough to be Division I.”

Johnson continued to make it tough for First Baptist to close it out – he got fouled shooting a 3-pointer and made all 3 shots from the foul line to cut the Lion lead to 57-55 with 9 seconds remaining.

Davis, who finished the game with 22 points to lead the Lions, got fouled and sunk his first shot from the charity stripe. He didn’t get to shoot another as Petit was called for a lane violation.

That gave Johnson his opportunity to tie the game and electrify the building.

“The crowd was amazing,” Jones said. “We have the best fans, the best cheerleaders that you can ask for. I’ve always said we’re one of the toughest places in all of Southwest Florida to play. It gets loud and there, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.”

The Griffins took their first lead of the game when Ortiz scored on the wrong basket to start overtime. From there, they never trailed, in large part due to Johnson’s relentless play.

“We just had the energy,” he said.

For Johnson, who transferred to Gateway Charter for his senior season, the performance was a gratifying one, particularly against a First Baptist squad that made the Class 2A state semifinals a year ago.

"He’s had a chip on his shoulder all year," Jones said. "We’ve heard a lot about Latrell Davis all year, and he’s never once complained about it. He’s never once bitched about it, but he’s always found a way just to say I’m just going to keep doing my thing, keep chipping away at it, and earning respect."

At one point late in the fourth quarter, Jones was debating whether to “wave the white flag” and put some senior bench players in the game.

He stayed resolute, and so did his players.

“I’m really proud of these guys,” Jones said. “They never gave up. The energy was strong.”

— Dustin Levy

Class 6A-Region 3

Palmetto Ridge 56, Countryside 55

Palmetto Ridge survived a home thriller over Countryside (16-10) on Thursday night after Iago Stanback knocked down two free-throws that gave the Bears the lead with six seconds left to play. 

To describe the 6A Regional Quarterfinal as a slugfest would be an understatement. Both squads battled on the boards while the defensive intensity on both sides of the floor never waivered. 

Countryside began the contest letting it fly early and often from deep, burying four three-pointers in the first quarter. With Countryside starting the game hot from deep, the Bears’ athletic wings made it a point to get into the paint and wreak havoc on the Cougars. 

Calven Charles’ athleticism was on full display in the first quarter, picking up several key and-ones on acrobatic finishes. The Bears’ persistence in the paint paid off, and the first quarter ended with Palmetto Ridge up 19-14. 

Countryside’s defense came alive in the second quarter, and held the Bears to just four points for the quarter. The Cougars capitalized on the cold-stretch and entered the locker room with a 26-23 lead over Palmetto Ridge. 

“We didn’t need to win the game 86-85, we just needed to win the game,” said Bears head coach John Solak. “So we wanted everyone to calm down, slow it down, and get open shots.” 

And slow down the Bears did. After a frantic second quarter, the Bears opened up the third frame with a 12-5 run, sparked by Sean Gomez. Gomez scored Palmetto Ridge’s first seven points of the half as the Bears methodically forced mismatches and created open looks. After scoring just four points in the previous quarter, the Bears erupted for a 22-point barrage in the third. 

Countryside withstood the avalanche, however, as five different Cougars found the scoring column in the third frame and kept them within striking distance, down 45-41 headed into the fourth quarter. 

After starting the game with four triples in one quarter, the Bears only gave up two three-pointers for the rest of the game. 

“Defensively, we just needed to lock in and contain the ball, continue to help, and close out harder on their three-point shooters,” Solak said. “They’re a talented team that can hit threes, but we knew that they weren’t going to be able to hit enough to beat us.” 

In the fourth quarter, both squads battled for momentum and traded buckets as time expired. If the Cougars managed to find a bucket, the Bears wasted no time responding. Countryside did lead for a majority of the fourth quarter, but their advantage was never more than just one point. 

With the Cougars up 55-54 with two minutes left to play, Palmetto Ridge stood tall on defense and didn’t allow another point until the final buzzer sounded. 

After a Countryside-missed free throw, the Bears came down and got multiple honest chances at a game winner on a layup and two tips. None fell, but a travel was called on a Cougar Nick Pouliot coming down with the rebound. 

With another chance for the game-winner on a baseline inbound, Charles fought through plenty of contact and called for the inbound on the block as Pouliot had a handful of his jersey. Charles went up, and Pouliot managed to force a jump ball as Charles came crashing to the deck after even more contact. 

The possession arrow favored Palmetto Ridge, and the Bears lined up for one more chance on the baseline inbound with 20.9 seconds left to play. A few quick passes later, Jayden Soto tee’d up a contested corner three. 

Stanback came streaking in for the rebound, and drew a foul as he corralled the board. With six seconds left on the clock and down one, he stepped up to the line with a chance to put the Bears ahead. For Stanback, the situation was one he had been preparing for. 

“Before the game, I was practicing clutch situations,” Stanback said. “I always practice us being down by one or two and I have to knock down a shot, so in that moment I think of what I’ve been practicing and my mind is clear.” 

The work paid dividends for Stanback and company, as he iced both free throws and put Palmetto Ridge up 56-55. A defensive scramble at half-court kept Countryside from even crossing the timeline with the ball, and the Bear faithful rushed the court as the final horn sounded. 

“We had a good talk at halftime about never getting too high when we’re up, not getting too low when we’re down, and just staying cool as a cucumber,” Solak said. “And down there at the end when they had that one-point lead, everyone was locked in, everybody knew the plan, and I was very confident that they were going to execute it and get the win.” 

Stanback finished the win with a game-high 23 points along with 8 rebounds. Charles work down low saw him notch a big-time double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Pouliot led the Cougars with 15 points.

— Nick Wilson

Wharton 60, Immokalee 50

Class 5A-Region 3

Barron Collier 80, Lely 57

Barron Collier used a big run with 4:06 to go in the third quarter to vanquish Lely and advance to the regional semifinals.

Lely kept pace with the Cougars in the early going but the 3 point shooting of Brayden Touchette and Spencer Clayton pushed Barron Collier to a 10 point halftime lead 45 to 35.

The Trojans Sam Powell kept his team in the game with 15 first half points.

Then Lely came out of halftime on fire cutting the Cougar lead to five behind a 3 from Marche Fleury and a dunk from Jayce Cora.

“We got it down to five, and I tried to call a set play but they rushed one and they came down and hit one — you have to stay sharp against a team like this,” Lely head coach Fritz Jacques said.

That shot stretched the Cougars lead back to 8, and by the end of the 3rd quarter they had Lely down by 16.

A patient Cougar offensive attack was led by senior Noah French who finished with 26 along with Touchette's 18 points and Clayton's 13 points.

Barron Collier stretched its lead by as much as 25 points in the 4th quarter.

“We didn’t play our best basketball, but as you see we turned it on when we needed to and we need to be a little better and we will be,” said Cougar head coach David Watts.

Barron Collier ups its record to 22-5 and will play Mariner next Tuesday in the Region finals

— John Rinkenbaugh

Mariner 52, Seminole 50

St. Petersburg 80, Naples 73

Class 4A-Region 3

Gateway 65, Lemon Bay 52

They may only be in their second full season as a varsity program, but the Gateway High School boys basketball team has its eye on one place: Lakeland.

This young team, which won its district for the second straight year, took one step closer to that goal Thursday as they won their Region 4A-3 quarterfinal game over Lemon Bay 65-52.

The game wasn't nearly as close as the final score indicated. The Eagles led by as much as 28 early in the fourth quarter before emptying the bench and coasting home.

Coach Quran Pettyjohn has focused on four things: discipline, mental, togetherness and fun.

"We said at the beginning of the year 'Let's do something nobody has done and that's get to a state championship in the second year of a school having a varsity team,'" Pettyjohn said. 

Gateway (18-6) led wire to wire and got off to a strong start with Colin Alvarez hitting several shots to get the Eagles going.

Gateway built the lead steadily throughout the night. They led by seven after one quarter, 14 at the half and by 22 after three quarters as they took advantage of Lemon Bay turnovers and missed shots.

"One of the biggest things is trusting the young guys. We have a lot of sophomores and only two seniors and juniors on the team," Pettyjohn said. "I'm excited for the future. They had to step up in a major way. I asked a lot from them. If I didn't think they could do it, I wouldn't ask."

Colin Alvarez hit three from beyond the arc on his way to a game-high 15 points. Andrew Leopold added 13 and Tavian Cook, who had 43 points against Estero in the district championship win Friday, was held to 12 for Gateway, which won its sixth straight game and will host the winner of Central vs. Robinson on Tuesday.

Pettyjohn, who saw his son, Quran Pettyjohn Jr., hit three 3-pointers for 9 points, said it's two wins away from the goal, but they need to do it one game at a time.

Lemon Bay (15-10) got 15 points from Jace Huber and 9 from Cody Mays. Coach Sean Huber was proud of the way his team fought to the end, but added they made too many mistakes on the road.

"We had 12 turnovers in the first half. That's too many against a really good basketball team," Huber said. "You can't give a team more opportunities than you have to score or you're going to get beat."

— Chuck Ballaro

Lakewood 77, Estero 51

Class 2A-Region 3

Lakeside Christian 60, St. John Neumann 55

In order to survive and advance, any basketball team must not a glaring weakness in their game when the postseason rolls around.

Thursday night was a game where Neumann couldn’t afford to give offensive-minded Lakeside Christian second chances.

The undersized Celtics’ were exploited on both ends of the glass, as rebounding has often been a point of emphasis as the season progressed. The Lions (16-11) took advantage of enough extra opportunities down the stretch, coming away with a 60-55 win on the road to advance to the Class 2A-Region 3 semifinals.

“It was an intense battle,” Neumann coach Zack Ward said. “They made a couple of plays down the stretch. We had chances to make plays, and didn’t come up with them. Our Achilles heel all year has been defensive rebounding, and they hammered us on the glass a little bit offensively. We gave up easy points we shouldn’t have given up.

“Credit to them, they played super hard, scrappy. Credit to my guys too, battling all game. They could’ve easily folded when we were down 9 there late, and we scrapped it out and at least made a fight out of it.”

Lucas Kolaxis was strong in the win for Lakeside Christian, scoring his 21 points across three quarters of action after being held scoreless in the final frame. Tommy Shores picked up where Kolaxis left off in the fourth, finishing with 7 of the team’s 15 points in the final frame.

“I’m just really proud of them all, especially the seniors who have had an up and down season,” Lakeside Christian coach Scott Johnson said. “When it mattered most, they came through, especially Lucas Kolaxis. He played a heck of a game. He even drew the double-team a few minutes in.

“Lucas has been a special player. I’ve actually coached him since he was in the seventh grade. He’s almost like family at this point. To see him come through on a stage like that was really exciting.”

Eric Morgan was often the player giving the Celtics (15-13) life down the stretch, keeping the team within striking distance for much of the game. For the first three quarters, the lead never got above six points either way. Morgan finished with a team-high 19 points, including 11 in the second half.

“I’ve said it in the past, he’s just criminally underrated in the area,” Ward said. “In my opinion, he’s top five in the area. He’s a guy that isn’t posting highlights on Twitter and Instagram all the time. He just works and grinds all the time, and I think that’s why people don’t really know about him. Credit to him for being someone who doesn't chase attention. He just plays.”

With the win, Lakeside Christian will advance to take on top-seeded Tampa SLAM next Tuesday. Neumann finishes 15-13, securing the most wins in the regular season for the first time in eight seasons.

“Proud of the kids, and their effort,” Johnson added. “The kids who didn’t play much stepped up and hit a couple of big shots. Really proud of them, and looking forward to next week.”

— Alex Martin

Canterbury (St. Petersburg) 73, Seacrest Country Day 61