Bradenton Christian races toward first state title with rout of FAMU

LAKELAND -- Ryan Leunk shouted the moment the ball rolled off his hand. The shooting guard curled around a screen at the top of the key and pulled up for a catch-and-shoot just inside the 3-point line.

"Let's go!" he shouted as his shot zipped toward the rim and through the net with 1:30 left in the first quarter. Moments later, Leunk went to the bench for a rest to end the opening period.

The senior had scored 12 points in the opening 6:30 of the Class 2A semifinals, jolting Bradenton Christian from its early game doldrums and powering the Panthers to a 61-44 win against Tallahassee Florida A&M at The Lakeland Center.

BCS (28-3) will play for the first state championship in program history in Lakeland at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Bradenton Christian will face the winner of Tuesday's other semifinal between Boca Raton Grandview Prep and Orlando Christian Prep.

Leunk finished his first final four appearance with a game-high 23 points, eight rebounds and two assists. The guard shot 8 of 14 from the field and went 3 for 4 from 3-point range.

When the Panthers started the game with more than two minutes without a field goal, Leunk's individual burst gave BCS the lead for good.

Bradenton Christian turned the ball over on its first three possessions at George Jenkins Arena. The only point it managed during the first 2:06 was a free throw by center J.T. Noellert.

Size was an obvious edge for the Panthers - Florida A&M (17-14) doesn't have a player taller than 6-foot-2 - and Leunk's 6-3 frame was an issue for the Baby Rattlers.

BCS' first field goal came on an inbounds play under FAMU's basket -- a simple post-up for Leunk for a hook shot. Leunk scored seven in a row for Bradenton Christian and the Panthers took an 8-4 lead.

By the end of the quarter, BCS led 19-6 and by halftime the Panthers had stretched the lead to 35-15.

The Rattlers pulled within seven points of Bradenton Christian with a buzzer-beating 3 at the end of the third quarter before Leunk scored five straight to open the fourth quarter and push the Panthers' lead back to nine. Fellow guard Vincent Rehfeldt added back-to-back mid-range jumpers, including one out of a time-killing four corners set, to push FAMU back out of reach.

Rehfeldt was one of only two other BCS players to score in double figures. The senior finished with 13 points, four rebounds and two assists. Noellert grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, but was plagued by foul trouble and went 0 for 3 from the field. Small forward Justin Aracena added eight points on 4-of-5 shooting and eight rebounds off the bench.

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Bradenton Christian races toward first state title with rout of FAMU ."