Bradenton Christian crushes Lakewood Ranch in overtime
LAKEWOOD RANCH -- As Alex Telfair pounded the floor and cried out in excitement at one end of the floor, three Bradenton Christian teammates headed to the opposite baseline of the gymnasium at Lakewood Ranch High School.
Flanked by Jake Lister and Justin Aracena, Ryan Leunk strutted toward the nearly half of the gym, which was occupied by Panther supporters. As Telfair readied for a free throw to stretch BCS' lead to 10 during the final 30 seconds of overtime against the Mustangs, the three seniors brought the crowd to its feet for the loudest ovation of Tuesday evening.
"We've definitely been looking to this game for a while now. They're obviously a great team," Leunk said. "Some of the best teams in the county right there and we were definitely looking forward to it."
Last week, Ranch proved its Manatee County public school supremacy with wins against Southeast and Palmetto.
On Tuesday, Bradenton Christian made its claim as the best overall team in the county with an 88-80 road win in overtime.
Leunk finished with a game-high 26 points and helped the Panthers (11-2, 4-0 Class 2A-District 9) build a 19-point lead during the second quarter.
"We knew coming into the game that they were a press team, so we were going to have to run our press break," Leunk said. "We were able to do that pretty easily."
Lakewood Ranch (9-2, 3-0 Class 7A-Districtt 11) didn't cause the consistent chaos it hopes for until the fourth quarter when five BCS turnovers in five possessions triggered an 8-0 run. The Mustangs tied the game at 65-65 - their first tie of the game.
"You just can't do that against good teams. That's a very good, well-coached team and you can't dig yourself that much of a hold," Ranch head coach Jeremy Schiller said. "If it was a four- or five-point game then we would've won by double digits."
Lakewood Ranch, however, never took a lead. With the ball and 30 seconds remaining, the Mustangs ran the clock down and guard Damien Gordon missed a jumper. The game went to overtime tied at 70-70.
"We really picked it up on the defensive end at the end of the game," Leunk said. "We had to get that last stop."
Leunk started the extra period with consecutive layups and then Bradenton Christian added its own defensive pressure. Lister jumped a passing lane, then hit a pair of free throws. Leunk jumped another pass and hit a free throw. The Panthers racked up five steals during the extra session to seal a signature victory.
The dagger was Telfair's, and came in the same fashion as nearly every other key BCS overtime bucket. Bradenton Christian struggled to contain the dribble drive, so if Ranch won the one-on-one matchup, Panthers center J.T. Noellert slid toward the ball. Lakewood Ranch tried passing to the perimeter for open 3-pointers and BCS decided to gamble.
When it worked, Mustangs guard Brock Sisson typically hit a 3 -- he scored a team-high 22 points. When it didn't, Bradenton Christian took possession.
All five steals came when the Panthers jumped the passing lane, including Telfair's. The senior, who moved to point guard when Vincent Rehfeldt fouled out, charged down the court for an one-and-one. He tumbled to the ground and celebrated from the floor.
Despite its impressive start to the year, BCS missed its only chance at a top-100 win in MaxPreps' Freeman rankings last month against St. Petersburg Gibbs.
On Tuesday, Bradenton Christian was validated.
"My seniors," BCS head coach Scott Townsend said, "they just came up big. They made a couple big steals and took care of the game."
Elsewhere
The Palmetto Tigers girls basketball team swept all three games to repeat as champion of the Island Coast High School Classic Shootout in Cape Coral.
The Tigers beat First Baptist Academy of Naples 61-27, trounced Cypress Lake of Fort Myers 63-19, and edged Monsignor Pace of Miami 45-40 in the title contest.
Tina Stephens was leading scorer in all three games, averaging 20 points. Taylor Rozier averaged 17 points in the shootout, and Connor Rozier led the Tigers in rebounds, grabbing 19 in the title game.
This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Bradenton Christian crushes Lakewood Ranch in overtime ."