By: J. Daniel Pearson
Trailing at halftime, the Osceola Kowboys rode an offensive surge from Luke McCrimon and Jordan Isaac to a 75-61 win over Poinciana –capturing the FHSAA Class 7A, District 9 championship in the process.
Osceola’s win, their fifth in a row, improved their record to 23-3 and most likely secured a #1 seeding when the Region 3 Tournament begins on Wednesday. “A couple of weeks ago, we lost two games in a row but I really think it was a wake-up call for us,” Osceola coach Steve Mason said. “We were rolling along pretty good and those two losses (69-55 to Lake Highland Prep and 73-68 to The First Academy) probably did more good for us then harm. It made us realize that we couldn’t just show up and expect to win.”
Although Osceola entered Thursday district championship game with an OBC Championship, a four-game winning streak and a top district seed to their credit. Still, Poinciana would prove to be more than an obstacle – particularly in the first half.
Playing patiently on offense, driving the ball inside and coming up with some key second –chance buckets, the Eagles built a 21-18 lead after one quarter, behind 11 points from Savion Viser. They would continue to apply the pressure through much of the second period, leading by as many as seven and maintaining a five-point lead for most of the period.
Key three-pointers by Helio Quinlan and McCrimon and two buckets by Isaac late in the period, allowed Osceola to finish on a 11-4 run to cut the margin to just one at the half, 37-36.
Osceola would turn up the heat both offensively and defensively in the third period.
McCrimon scored 12 in the period and Isaac added nine to account for 21 of Osceola’s 25 points in the period. While those two were going off on the offensive end, Osceola’s defense was smothering the Eagles – limiting them to just nine points in the quarter.
The Kowboys took their first lead since the opening minutes of the game on a McCrimon three at the 7:20 mark of the third and Osceola built the lead to 10 on McCrimon’s second three at the 3:38 mark to make it a 50-40 lead. A three-pointer on a basket and foul shot by Isaac gave Osceola a 61-46 lead heading into the final stanza.
Desperate to get back in the game, Poinciana opened the final period with a full court press. Osceola broke that pressure — leading to several easy baskets as the Kowboys extended the lead to 21. For the contest, Isaac led all scorers with 31; McCrimon – who scored his 1000th career point in the game – finished with 26.
“It seems like every game, someone different steps up to lead us offensively. Tonight it was Jordan and Luke. I really like the way we are playing right now. No one seems to care who gets the baskets or gets the credit as long as we win the game,” Mason said. “If we can keep executing and playing with this intensity we have a chance for a deep run in the state playoffs.”
Poinciana, who was led by 12 points each from Jahmel Hill and Viser, dropped to 16-10 on the season. Still the Eagles season may not be finished. They came into the week ranked number seven in Region 3 and as long as they stay in the top eight when rankings come out Saturday, they will earn an at-large spot in the post-season.
Ironically, if the Eagles finish 8th and Osceola holds on to the top seed, it would create a rematch of those schools in the Wednesday’s regional quarterfinal. The two teams played in the regular season with Osceola winning, 50-47.
“Give Coach K (Poinciana coach Ramesses Khalfani) and Poinciana a lot of credit. They have some talent and K always have them playing hard,” Mason added. “They say style makes fights and Poinciana seems to match up pretty well against us, so I would prefer not to see them again – especially in the first round.”
In other basketball action involving county schools on Thursday, the Gateway girls team (20-5) smothered Jones by a 53-19 score in the Class 5A, District 7 Tournament. That puts the Panthers in a Saturday championship game at New Smyrna Beach (21-5). In other girls’ basketball action, St. Cloud (17-8) defeated Cypress Creek, 52-43, and will host Harmony for the 7A, District 6 championship on Saturday.
On Friday, the St. Cloud boys’ team (23-3) takes on Harmony (18-8) at Cypress Creek for the Class 7A, District 6 title; while Liberty (16-4) hosts Bishop Moore (6-20) for the Class 4A, District 7 championship.
