In a game where top-seeded Harmony never led, Osceola won its sixth consecutive Orange Belt Conference boys’ basketball title with a thrilling 46-44 win over the Longhorns Friday at Tohopekaliga High.
The win was Osceola’s (13-11) sixth in a row and eighth in their last nine games. Harmony (17-5) was seeking their first OBC crown in school history. The Osceola win also avenged a 54-47 loss to Harmony on Dec. 7.
“This was a great win for our team tonight,” Osceola Coach Steve Mason said. “I think there were a lot of people doubting this young team when we started 2-7. But our goal from the beginning of the season was to get better every day, every practice, every game, and every week and we continue to move forward to that goal.”
Osceola jumped on top early, taking a 6-0 lead in the first three minutes as Harmony missed their first eight shots. But the Kowboys would also grow cold and managed just one more basket for the rest of the period and led 8-5 after one quarter.
The teams played a relatively even second quarter. With time running down and Osceola ahead by four, Jordan Mason came up with a steal but his layup attempt was blocked and Vlad Torrado hit a driving layup to cut the lead to 21-19 at the half.
Osceola hit five of their first six shots of the third quarter momentarily take control and push the lead to 31-23. Harmony would fight back again, as three-point play by Cayden Scarborough and a Rafael Balines’ bucket in the closing seconds cut the lead back to three at 31-28 after three quarters.
“It really didn’t surprise me that we were not able to pull away,” Mason said. “Harmony has a talented veteran squad and Duke (Leonardo, Harmony coach) does a great job coaching them. They are always disciplined and play hard and we knew it would be a difficult battle all night.”
Three pointers by Lucas McCrimon and Mason Fontaine sparked a 9-2 run and Osceola led 40-30 with 3:32 remaining. But a pressure Harmony defense and some spotty foul shooting by the Kowboys kept the Longhorns in the game. Balines would hit a three-pointer and a pair of free throws; while a Scarborough basket on a stick back narrowed the lead to 44-41.
Mason would then miss a pair of free throws but Balines’ game-tying three-point attempt with 15 seconds came up short. Jamarion McCrimon grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He would hit one of two free throws on the other end to push the lead back to five points with six seconds remaining to secure the win.
“We didn’t really handle their press to well and we missed a lot of free throws that would have made the lead a lot more comfortable, but I am not too upset about that,” Mason said. “Many of those misses came from freshman and sophomores that were playing in their first high-pressure title game. That experience will serve them well when they are juniors and seniors. It’s all part of the maturation process.”
Freshman Lucas McCrimon led the Kowboys with 13 points, sophomores Josiah Cotto had 10 and Alex Springs added nine. Torrado and Balines led Harmony with 13 and 10 points respectively.
Osceola concludes its regular season next week with a home game against Haines City on Tuesday and a road game with Celebration on Thursday. Harmony has two away games next week at Sebastian River and Master’s Academy and needs one more win to set a school record for victories in a single season.
In the consolation game, Gateway beat Tohopekaliga (45-42) for third place. Aiden Lake led the Panthers with 20 points, Jevon Andrew-Brown tallied 19 for the Tigers.
