Lakewood Ranch gets rematch wish with St. Pete High

The buzzer sounded and the Lakewood Ranch High School boys basketball team trudged to the locker room and then the bus for a quiet ride back to Manatee County.

Along the way, they walked past St. Petersburg players cutting down the nets inside the “Devil’s Den,” a rowdy, in-your-face gym with fan seating nearly on top of the court and players.

It wasn’t the way the Mustangs envisioned their breakout season ending.

It wasn’t a trip to Lakeland for the state final four.

“As soon as that buzzer sounded last year and we didn’t win the game the way we wanted to, you immediately start thinking about, ‘We have to prepare to get back here next year,’” Lakewood Ranch head coach Jeremy Schiller said after Tuesday’s region semifinal win over Palmetto. “Well, everything has been, for us, is focusing on the moment. Well, the reality is that moment’s here now, and we’re back in the regional final. And for us, we feel like there’s unfinished business.”

So Schiller consulted with his rising seniors days after the season concluded last March and devised a simple and effective goal that also didn’t lose sight of the day-to-day approach.

It’s the hashtag, “We For 3,” and it boasts a double-meaning.

Most students on campus believed it was for the 3-point attempts the Mustangs launched the past two years. But the main emphasis with it is this: districts, regions, states.

An unbeaten district slate was polished off with capturing the program’s second straight district tournament title.

The second part to that equation is a region championship. Standing in the Mustangs’ way is a familiar opponent: St. Pete High.

The Green Devils eliminated Lakewood Ranch by six points in last year’s region final en route to finishing the Class 7A state runner-up. Now in 8A-Region 3, the two sides are meeting once more.

It’s precisely what the Mustangs wanted.

Shortly after dusting off Palmetto High in Tuesday’s region semifinal, senior center Sam Jackson said the team hoped St. Pete won its region semifinal against Tampa Bay Tech, so they’d get a rematch and the chance to play the region final at home for the first time in program history.

“At this point, they’ve literally been through everything,” Schiller said. “We’ve played all around the state against the best teams we can play against. Multiple teams that are still in the regional playoffs, who are doing really well. We’ve played on the road, we’ve played at home versus tough teams.”

The Green Devils beat Tampa Bay Tech, 85-77, to grant Jackson’s, and the Mustangs’, wish.

“That night, literally it seemed like everyone from St. Pete to Bradenton was there,” said Jackson about last year’s game.

Lakewood Ranch used depth to out-muscle area competition, while utilizing a difficult schedule that included a trip to Ocala’s Kingdom of the Sun winter break holiday tournament, to prepare for a deep postseason run.

Step two on the “We For 3” motto is a difficult one to get past, because the Green Devils boast a formidable team.

Junior guard Serrel Smith dropped 36 points, with 28 coming in the first half, against Tampa Bay Tech on Tuesday. Teammates Darius Banks (20 points) and A.J. Ford (11) also produced double-figure scoring games.

Like the Mustangs, St. Pete (17-10) put together a daunting schedule that saw the Green Devils compete in the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers. That tournament attracts the top teams in the country annually.

To slow the Green Devils, who are appearing in their sixth straight regional final, the Mustangs must continue to reach Schiller’s goal of limiting the opponent to below 40 percent shooting from the field.

Lakewood Ranch’s suffocating, pressing defense is averaging 12.3 steals per game this season.

“Our defense is the majority of our game,” senior point guard Devin Twenty said. “Usually when we’re playing defense, we’re getting stops and we’re getting traps. And usually, that’s the majority of our points.”

Twenty is one of three players averaging double-figures in scoring this season. He leads the team with 12.4 points per game, while junior Damien Gordon (12.3 ppg.) and senior Sam Hester (10.8 ppg.).

But it isn’t just those three that do damage. On Tuesday against Palmetto, all 11 Mustangs scored, showcasing their depth.

On Friday, step two on the three-step checklist comes to Bradenton when St. Pete High squares off with the Mustangs at a scheduled 7 p.m. tip.

“Excited to have another home game for our fans on Friday,” Schiller said.

This story was originally published February 23, 2017 at 11:06 AM with the headline "Lakewood Ranch gets rematch wish with St. Pete High."