Harmony earns regional playoff spot with 48-46 win over Lake Nona; matchups announced Sunday
Caden Scarborough hit the second of two free throws, and the Harmony defense came up with a huge steal with three seconds remaining as the Longhorns (22-5) won their first district title in school history with a 48-46 win over top-seeded Lake Nona (20-7) in the District 7A-5 championship game Friday at Celebration High.
The win will send Harmony (22-5) into a regional quarterfinal game on Thursday (Feb. 16), against an opponent to be announced on Sunday. Although Harmony will most likely be on the road, that news will not spoil the mood of Coach Duke Leonardo and his Longhorn players.
“We spelled out specific goals before the season started. We wanted to be the first basketball team in school history to win 20 games, we wanted to win the Orange Belt Conference Championship and we wanted to win the first district championship in school history,” Leonardo said. “We didn’t get that OBC championship but tonight more than makes up for it. This has been a long time in coming and I’m so proud of what these guys accomplished this year. We know we are going to face an outstanding opponent next week in regional play, but we’ll practice hard and we will be ready to go.”
Things did not start out smoothly against the Lions. Harmony turned the ball over on its first four possessions, did not get a shot off until 5:11 mark of the first quarter and trailed 5-0.
But once Teacum Paxman put Harmony’s first points on the board with a three-pointer, the Longhorns settled down and eventually took a 9-6 after one period. Miguel Tirado hit a pair of threes in the second period and the Longhorns went on top 22-16 at the half. While Harmony shot the ball well in the first half, 11 turnovers kept the game close.
Harmony scored the first five points of the third period and would eventually push the lead out to 30-16, but Lake Nona went on a 16-4 run to cut the lead to two after three quarters, 34-32.
With game close and time running down, Vald Torrado hit on a driving layup for the Longhorns, and the defense would come up with a steal. Scarborough was fouled making a layup and his subsequent free throw pushed the lead to 47-43 with 29 seconds remaining.
But the Lions would not quit. Nona’s Alex Levoie would be fouled from beyond the arc with 23 seconds remaining and would calmly knock down all three free throws to make it a one-point game, 47-46. Harmony broke the Lions’ press and Scarborough was fouled with 12 seconds to go. He nailed the second of the two free throws to push the lead back to two with 12 seconds remaining.
With a chance to tie with a two-pointer or possibly win with a three, Lavoie got the ball knocked out of his hands at the top of the key, and Rafael Balines picked up the loose ball as time expired.
In an odd way to win, Harmony committed 24 turnovers but won the game at the line by hitting 12 of 13 free throws.
“I thought we shot the ball well tonight but the turnovers nearly killed us,” Leonardo said. “Credit them to some extent, they are well coached, play great defense and always get their opponents in a low-scoring game.
“We have not been a good free throw shooting team all season but we were clutch tonight. Basketball can be funny some times. We turned the ball over a lot tonight but it was a turnover on their part that clinched the game for us.”
While the Longhorns shot 41.4% (17-of-41), the Lions shot just 22% (15 of 68) – including 2-of-24 from beyond the arc.
Tirado led all Harmony scorers with 12 points, but it was the play of Scarborough that made the difference. The three-year starter scored 10 points, blocked four shots and played a major role in shutting down the inside game of the Lions.
“Basketball isn’t even his best sport, baseball is,” Leonardo said of Scarborough, who has already signed to play on the diamond at Hillsborough State College. “But he has been a three-year starter and has been our rock in the middle. Whenever we need a big play on defense, a key bucket or an assist, he always seems to be there to make that play.”
The win helped produce a remarkable turnaround in Harmony’s basketball fortunes. In the four years prior to Leonardo’s arrival, the Longhorns had four consecutive losing seasons and were 32-61 overall. After a 6-12 initial season, Leonardo has put together back-to-back records of 16-10 and 21-5 and he is 43-27 overall. The Harmony girls also won a district title this year and finished 16-5, after going 10-38 in their previous three years.
