Next up, regional playoffs Thursday
Somewhat of a perfectionist, Osceola basketball coach Steve Mason has never been shy to point out places where he felt his team could have performed better – even in big wins. But on Friday night, even Mason had a hard time finding any faults in the way his Kowboys rolled to a lopsided 82-52 win over Tohopekaliga in the Class 7A, District 9 championship game.
“Without question, that’s as focused and locked in as we have been all season long,” Mason said. “We struggled, particularly in the first half of Wednesday’s semifinal game against Lake Nona, but tonight we came out with a lot of fire, a lot of intensity, and a lot of desire. I just don’t think there was any way these guys were going to be denied tonight.”
The Kowboys (18-5) will host a Region 3 quarterfinal game Thursday. The FHSAA should release the bracket as early as Saturday.
Tohopekaliga (11-11), which won their first post-season game in school history on Wednesday when they upset second-seeded Cypress Creek, had one of their few highlights of the evening when they scored the first basket of the game for their only lead of the night. Behind eight points from Ryan Rivera, the Kowboys would go on a quick 11-0 run and led 23-11 after one period of play.
Chris Rios would put on a show in the second quarter, scoring 12 points, grabbing three rebounds and coming up with two steals as the Kowboys put up a 31-point quarter to make it 54-28 at half.
It was more of the same in the third. Osceola hit five 3s in the quarter and when Tyler Newsome made a layup at the four-minute mark the lead grew to 35 and triggered a running clock for the rest of the game.
Whether it was hitting long-range jumpers, finding the open man for layups, creating 20 turnovers with a smothering defense or blocking shots – Osceola did little wrong on the night. Rios finished as the leading scorer for the Kowboys with 20 points, Sean Combs added 17 and Chris Combs chipped in 11. But everyone contributed. Corey Vega had nine points and in limited minutes Jamarion McCrimmon had six points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.
“You want to be playing your best basketball at the end of the season and it looks like we are starting to hit our stride,” Mason noted. “We may not have the tallest team or the most talent but when we play hard like we did tonight, we can match up with a lot of good teams.”
About the only negative of the night came with at the 2:53 mark of the fourth quarter when a scuffle between some students broke out in the stands and spilled out on the floor. School officials quickly broke up the melee but given the lopsided score, game officials decided to call the game.
The Tigers finished the season with an 11-11 record after going just 13-49 in their first three years. Josh Camelo and Elial Salva each scored 16 points; while Orlando Descartes added six. “I made it a point to congratulate Jesus (Tohopekaliga Coach Jesus Merced) after the game,” Mason added. “After a rough couple of years, they had some good wins this year and he certainly has his program moving in the right direction.”
With the district championship, Osceola will be guaranteed at least one home game when regional competition begins on Thursday. Gateway, which fell to 18-8 on the season after dropping a 62-47 decision to Auburndale in the Class 5A, District 7 semifinals on Wednesday, could secure one of four at-large regional bids.
