By: J. Daniel Pearson
Senior Co-Captains Luke McCrimon and Jordan Mason combined for 53 points as the Osceola Kowboys rolled past Riverview Sarasota, 90-52, in an FHSAA 7A, Region 2 quarterfinal game on Saturday night on Nate Alexander Court.
The win pushes the second-seeded Kowboys to 22-5 on the year and advances them to next Saturday’s Regional Semifinal, where they will host Tampa Plant (22-6), who won convincingly over Ridge Community on Saturday, 61-39. It will be a rematch of last year’s regional semifinal – which Osceola won at home, 75-66.
“They (Plant) are very much like we are,” Osceola coach Steve Mason said. “Similar to us, they were a very good, junior dominated team last year and now those guys are seniors. It was a hard-fought game last year and I am expecting the same this time around.” Tipoff next Saturday is 7 p.m.
Saturday’s quarterfinal was close for one quarter. Mason and McCrimon scored eight points each, but Josh Harris hit five shots in a row and had 14 points in the period as Osceola was able to cling to a narrow 21-18 lead after one period.
“Harris is a tremendous player, we knew that from a year ago,” Mason said. “We knew we had to game-plan against him.”
Osceola’s pressing defense held Harris to four points in the second stanza, while McCrimon continued to put on a show. The two-time Orange Belt Conference Player of the Year scored nine in the quarter; as Osceola outscored the Rams 21-7 in the period.
Efficiency was the key for the Kowboys. They forced 15 first-half turnovers and shot 64.3% in the period to build a 42-25 lead at intermission.
Riverview would fight back in early in the third. Brooks hit a three and Sam Todd followed with a stick back for a 5-0 run to make it 42-30. But after quick timeout by Mason, the Kowboys quickly regained momentum. Mason and McCrimon combined for 19 in the quarter and Helio Quinan hit a big three as Osceola posted a 30-point period.
Osceola continued to extend the lead in the fourth. With 5:08 remaining in the game, Mason lofted a high-rainbow three-pointer from top of the key and found nothing but net. The basket gave Osceola a 36-point lead and started the running clock under the FHSAA “Mercy Rule.” Immediately after the basket, Coach Mason called timeout and emptied his bench.
For the game, Mason led Osceola with 27, McCrimon had 26 and Jahmel Hill had 15. Ryan Rodrgiuez just missed giving Osceola four players in double figures as he scored eight. Riverview’s Brooks led all scorers with 31.
“Very little went wrong for us tonight,” Coach Mason added. “We played our brand of defense, shot the ball well, and scored off turnovers. When we do that, we can be a tough out.”
Osceola was not the only county boys’ team in action on Saturday. St. Cloud (22-6) saw its season come to an end on the road – losing a 102-61 decision to Oak Ridge – the top seed in Region 2. The score was not as bad as it seemed, as the Bulldogs cut the lead to 15 late in the second half.
“It was a long shot but we kept fighting, unfortunately when we got within 15, we had a couple of turnovers. They pushed it back to 20 and sort of stream-rolled us from there,” St. Cloud coach Tommy Billiteri said. “But all things considered this was a great season for our seniors and our program. We won 20 again, got that first district title in half a century and represented the school well. Elias Torres and Diomar Ortiz, who were four-year starters, leave as the most decorated seniors in school history. They helped change the culture of our program and hopefully winning basketball will become the norm here.”
City of Life Christian Academy (22-6) will be advancing in the Class 1A, Region 3 tournament with a convincing 71-33 win over Canterbury. The Warriors were led by Carter Campbell’s 34 points (10 of 16 from three-point range). Jahkeema King added 15 and 11 rebounds. COLCA will host Donahue (22-6) next Saturday at 7 p.m. as they attempt to reach the regional finals for the first time in school history.
