St. Cloud, City of Life boys also win Wednesday; SCHS, GHS girls in action Thursday
Many consider Osceola basketball coach Steve Mason the unofficial historian of Kowboys basketball. But even he was a little bit befuddled when asked the last time an Osceola basketball team scored 100 points in a state playoff game.
After Wednesday night, Mason will have no problem recalling the answer.
Luke McCrimon and Jordan Mundle combined for 51 points to lead Osceola to a 102-75 win over Sarasota Riverview in a Class 7A, Region 3 quarterfinal game.
The victory means the Kowboys (24-3) will host Plant, a 57-53 winner over Newsome, in Monday’s 7 p.m. regional semifinal.
For the record, the answer to the question about 100 points was the storied 1982-83 undefeated Osceola state championship team, which scored 100 points in two different district playoff games. The Kowboys beat George Jenkins 99-61 in the district championship game 0f 2019, another OHS state title year.
“Tonight certainly puts this team in some pretty exclusive company,” Mason said. “That was a pretty good team we beat tonight. That Harris kid (Josh Harris, who scored 32 points) is a terrific ball player. But at the end of the day, I think our fast-paced offense and pressure defense just wore them down.”
After falling behind 8-3 early, the Kowboys quickly took control of the game as McCrimon hit a couple of three-balls – scoring 10 in the quarter -- as Osceola built a 27-19 lead. There was some concern on the Osceola sideline when starting forward Jordan Isaac went down with a foot injury early in the game. Randy Jean-Charles replaced Isaac and had a big quarter with four points, three rebounds and two blocks before Isaac returned.
Osceola began to pull away in the second quarter. Although Harris stayed hot for Riverview – scoring 13 of his first-half 22 points – Osceola countered with nine from McCrimon and seven from Jordan Mundle to outscore the Rams 25-19 in the period. The Kowboys extended the lead to 52-38 at the half -- finishing the period on an 8-2 run, with McCrimon hitting a three-pointer from near half court at the buzzer.
Riverview pulled within 10 before Jordan Mason gave a spark. He hit a three then scored on a layup off his own steal, and then added three-point play on another layup and foul shot. The eight straight points pushed the Kowboys lead back to 18.
“Jordan is a true point guard and is a pass-first player,” Coach Mason added. “But he is also a really competitive player and he caught a little fire.”
Mundle added nine and McCrimon scored six in the fourth as Osceola led by as many 29. Mason emptied his bench with two minutes to go, and when seldom-used guard Desi Lorenzano hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds, Osceola had its 100-point game.
In addition to big nights from McCrimon (28) and Mundle (23), Mason (17) and Isaac (16) also scored in double figures for the Kowboys. Osceola shot a blistering 39 of 62 (62.9%) from the field including 9 of 17 (52.9%) from three-point range. They were 17 for 24 from the charity stripe.
Region 7A-2: St. Cloud 63, Olympia 49 – The No. 5 seeded Bulldogs stunned the Titans on the road, for the first regional victory in the school's history. The win moves the Bulldogs (24-4) into a Monday night game with region top-seed Windermere, who eliminated Harmony (19-9) from the post-season by a 68-44 score.
St. Cloud was led to the win by Malaki Baker's 20 points and nine rebounds. He also recorded three blocks in a complete turnaround from the Bulldog's district final loss to Harmony, where Baker was held to just two points. St. Cloud got solid all-around games from Josiah Cotto (15 points) and Alex Springs (14).
"Olympia was a much taller team than we were, they had a height advantage with all five starters," St. Cloud head coach Tommy Billiteri said. "But we were the more physical team. We stayed inside our game plan and answered every run they had with a defensive stop or a big basket on our end."
See all of the scores from Wednesday, when seven county schools were in action.
Girls’ regional action takes center stage Thursday, when St. Cloud (18-8) entertains Oak Ridge (17-9) in a 7A, Region 2 quarterfinal; while Gateway (20-6) travels to Lake Wales (16-8) for a 5A, Region 2 quarterfinal.
