Boys prep basketball | Lakewood Ranch Mustangs win Class 7A-District 11 final over Palmetto Tigers
LAKEWOOD RANCH -- A year ago the Lakewood Ranch boys basketball team walked off its home court in the district final feeling empty.
As the top seed, the Mustangs were expected to win, but lost to North Port.
The disappointment lingered for a year with players knowing only redemption would make things better. Their rally cry was 'Wait Till Next Year.'
Next year came Friday in the Class 7A-District 11 final when the host Mustangs dominated Palmetto while earning a 77-64 victory. It was the program's second district championship and first in 11 years.
"We usually have a 24-hour rule where we think about a game and then move on. We are going to have a 48-hour rule for this one," said Lakewood Ranch boys head coach Jeremy Schiller, who took over the program five years ago when it was just an afterthought.
The Mustangs (21-6) played their usual brand of team ball, moving the ball and finding the open man while controlling the boards.
Justin Muscara, the Mustangs 6-foot-6 junior, kept Palmetto from making significant runs while scoring a career-high 20 points and hauling in 10 rebounds.
"Last year was a hard time; I was really upset after the game," Muscara said. "I didn't want to go through that again. Being able to win the district championship is one of the most amazing feelings I've ever had."
The Mustangs also received a key performance from junior swingman Sam Hester, who scored 11 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Devin Twenty contributed 10 points and Brock Sisson drained
three from beyond the arc to chip in 12 points.
Palmetto (13-13) led 13-10 late in the first quarter when Lakewood Ranch went on a 7-0 run sparked by Hester (5 points) and Muscara. The Mustangs never lost the lead.
"We had a plan from the first day I got here. We knew we would to start to build this by creating a culture and then creating an environment where kids got better," Schiller said. "We wanted them to play year round basketball and they all committed to it. It was culmination of the character of the kids and the plan we put together five years ago."
Lakewood Ranch defeated Palmetto twice during the regular season by eight and 18 points.
Palmetto's leading scorer, Tre Clark, scored 20 points, but he struggled, converting 5 of 14 free throws and 7 of 22 field goal attempts. He had 10 rebounds. The Tigers other double figure scorers were Dequan Kirce with 12 points and Kyle Edwards with 10.
Alan Dell, Herald columnist/writer, can be reached at 941-745-7057. Follow him on Twitter @ADellSports.
This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Boys prep basketball | Lakewood Ranch Mustangs win Class 7A-District 11 final over Palmetto Tigers ."