Lakewood Ranch and Bradenton Christian rode similar paths to regional final
The similarities between the Lakewood Ranch and Bradenton Christian boys basketball cannot be ignored.
It's a reason they are the only two Manatee County teams still alive for this weekend's region finals and a trip to the state final four on the line.
Both teams use a nine-man rotation and have unselfish players who don't appear to be concerned with who scores the points or plays the most minutes.
Both were undefeated against Manatee County teams with the exception of Bradenton Christian beating Lakewood Ranch 88-80 on the Mustangs' home floor.
BCS (26-3) is more experienced with five seniors starting, including three who have started since their freshman year.
Both teams can produce a different hero on any night. If there is a difference, BCS prefers a mid-range game while Lakewood Ranch is not shy about shooting 3s.
"I am kind of old school. I think the game is won in the paint and at the rim and shooting free throws," Townsend said. "We take about 10 to 15 3s a game while the teams we play are averaging between 25 and 33 (attempts). Lakewood Ranch shot about 37 or 38 3s against us."
Lakewood Ranch's lineup is comprised of underclassmen, and they have five juniors and four sophomores in their nine man rotation.
"I think we are similar, but we were built different," Lakewood Ranch head coach Jeremy Schiller said. "We both like to play fast. They have a little bit more size and their team kind of came together this year where our team has been kind of building over the last three years."
The key for both teams is their depth and willingness to share the ball sandwiched around some good shooters and key guys who do the dirty work in the paint without getting a lot of touches.
Post players Justin Muscara and Jack Kelly are key to Lakewood Ranch's success.
Their nine-man rotations are untypical for high school. Other schools either lack the depth to utilize that kind of system or are concerned spreading out playing time could create internal problems.
Lakewood Ranch has never been to the state final four and BCS last went in 2009.
To earn a trip the Mustangs (23-5) need to beat St. Petersburg (24-6) on the road Friday night. The Panthers are home Saturday night against the Delray Beach Village Academy (14-11).
Lakewood Ranch appears to have a more ominous task. The Green Devils went to the Final Four last year, are undefeated in 14 home games and are making their fifth straight region final appearance.
The Green Devils are led by 6-foot-5 junior Darius Banks, who had 26 points in the St. Petersburg's 79-55 region semifinal against Bloomingdale.
But Lakewood Ranch has proven to be a formidable foe that doesn't go away easy. The Mustangs rotate personnel a lot, but will need strong games from Muscara and Kelly. Damien Gordon and Sam Hester have been their most consistent performers both averaging double figures.
"The nicest thing about our kids is that they believe in themselves and believe in the program so we are going to go in there confident that we deserve to be in the final four also," Schiller said. "We are excited about the opportunity. Our depth and our pace give us an opportunity to win the game. We've kind of been fighting from the ground floor for a lot of years so it's not new for our guys to be in a dog fight. We are excited about it."
The BCS offense centers around 6-3 guard Ryan Leunk (17.8 ppg/7 rpg) and 6-8 big man J.T. Noellert (12.6 ppg/7.5 rpg). Jake Lister is averaging 12 points per game, Vincent Rehfeldt (7.5 ppg). and Alex Telfair 11 points per game.
"It's just the chemistry. We play so well together anybody can be the leading scorer on any night," Townsend said. "It's all about winning. We don't care about individual stats."
Village Academy gets the bulk of its scoring from three players led by guard Widgens Eugene who is averaging 19.5 points. The Tigers also like to go inside to their two 6-4 post players Jacobi Edwards (15.1 ppg./6 rpg.) and Keion Edwards (10.9 ppg./11.7 rpg.).
Alan Dell, Herald sports columnist/writer, can be reached at 941-745-7056. Follow him on Twitter@ADellSports.
This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Lakewood Ranch and Bradenton Christian rode similar paths to regional final ."