Out-of-Door Academy boys basketball ends 13-year state-playoff drought with win against Bradenton Christian in district semis

Nate Patrick began Out-of-Door Academy’s Class 3A-District 5 semifinal with a run to the perimeter. It’s where the sharpshooter spends the bulk of his time, and Tuesday it was where he would remove most of the drama against Bradenton Christian. He popped.

Four of Out-of-Door’s first five possessions ended with the ball in Patrick’s hand on the perimeter. Each time, the senior rose and fired in a 3-pointer. In a matter of minutes, Patrick jolted the Thunder out to a double-digit lead at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School’s Hoagland Arena.

The small forward is a relative newcomer to the program — he joined the Thunder before last season — so he hasn’t seen all the growth which has occurred during Marcus Liberty’s four years as ODA’s head coach. Still, Patrick has been at Out-of-Door long enough to be part of an also-ran’s transformation into a Class 3A power, even if he wasn’t around for the one-win season in 2013-14.

“They wanted it,” Liberty said. “They wanted to go out on top because it’s their senior year. They wanted to at least get to the district championship game and we’ve done just that.”

The Thunder’s 67-56 win will end a 13-year state playoff drought. ODA (19-3) has already clinched a spot in the Class 3A-Region 3 playoffs and can win the program’s first ever district championship Friday against Sarasota Christian in Bradenton.

The progress of the past four seasons alone make this year remarkable, even without considering the accolades now flowing Out-of-Door’s way. The most recent Florida Association of Basketball Coaches/Source Hoops poll pegs the Thunder as the No. 5 team in 3A, and MaxPreps.com’s computer rankings place ODA in the Top 10. If it wins the district, Out-of-Door will even get a chance to host a playoff game in the region semifinals.

Liberty’s first season — and the freshman year of the Thunder’s other two seniors — ended without a district victory and with an average margin of defeat of more than 20 points. Liberty couldn’t think about the program’s relative ineptitude then, and he still doesn’t think about it now that ODA is a contender to make a lengthy postseason run. He had no idea how long Out-of-Door’s playoff drought had lasted.

“I really don’t know,” Liberty said. “I really don’t pay much attention to that. I just know we’ve got a group of guys who’s ready to play, and I’m just proud of them that they came out and competed. They seemed like they wanted it and we showed it.”

The Thunder never had a chance to be rattled against a state finalist from a year ago. Patrick’s rapid-fire 12 points gave ODA a 12-2 lead, and by the opening seconds of the second half Out-of-Door had let the Panthers (13-13) within 10 points for the final time.

Patrick finished the period with 15 points and finished with a team-high 16. With Patrick occupying BCS’ defensive attention, five Thunder players finished in double figures.

“It’s the first time I really started in one of these kind of district games,” Patrick said. “I was really feeling it. I came ready.”

Shooting guard Amad Brayboy scored 15 for ODA and dished out six assists, wing Kolbie Ward finished with 12, and guards Chase Maasdorp and Andrew Berg each added 11. Out-of-Door took a 17-point lead in to halftime and stretched its margin as large as 24 during the third quarter before Bradenton Christian made a final, fruitless push.

With less than two minutes remaining, the Panthers finally cut the Thunder’s lead down to 12, but the Thunder’s trips to the free throw line kept BCS at bay.

ODA’s run also means the official end of Bradenton Christian’s region title defense. It was also going to be an unlikelihood after the Panthers graduated their top six players from a year ago, and now it has BCS parroting the same sort of building lines Out-of-Door used a year ago.

“I knew we had some talent if we could come together,” Bradenton Christian head coach Scott Townsend said. “We’ve got a lot of guys coming back and they’re going to get better, and we’re going to continue to work and this is really going to fuel our fire.”

This story was originally published February 7, 2017 at 10:22 PM with the headline "Out-of-Door Academy boys basketball ends 13-year state-playoff drought with win against Bradenton Christian in district semis."