Auburndale wins in final seconds; Winter Haven, Lakeland, Bartow reach finals
AUBURNDALE — Lake Wales simply would not go away. Auburndale took double-digit leads only to see the Highlander fight back and finally take the lead with 8.8 seconds remaining in the game.
After a timeout with seven seconds remaining, however, Kervin Knaggs dribbled the length of the court and hit a game-winning layup with 1.7 seconds left to lift Auburndale to a 69-68 victory over Lake Wales on Wednesday in the semifinals of the Class 5A, District 7 boys basketball tournament.
Knaggs scored eight of his team-high 21 points to help Auburndale fend off Lake Wales.
"I was trying to get a good shot to score and win the game," Knaggs said. "This is my first time having a game winner like that."'
Auburndale (19-8) defeated Lake Wales (7-15) by 17 points in early January, but it was Sevastian Rosado's first game of the season. The Highlanders lost their first three after he returned but were 7-3 in their last 10 games heading into Wednesday's games.
"We thought they were going to lay down, but they didn't," Knaggs said. "They came to play. They fought hard, but we ended up coming out with the win."
Knaggs was matched up with Rosado all game and had little height advantage. Rosado, however, scored 28 points, making some incredible acrobatic shots along with long 3-pointers. He hit back-to-back 3-pointers that sparked a Highlanders' run that ended with them leading by one point.
"Our game plan is to always to try stop Sevastian," Auburndale coach Eric Robinson said. "If he gets going, he can take a shot from anywhere. He's just a tough competitor. They're a tough team."
Lake Wales trailed by 12 points at halftime but made it a two-point game after three quarters. Auburndale, however, forced turnovers or bad shots every time Lake Wales tried to tie the score and built a 10-point lead with 3:50 to play.
The Bloodhounds then were held without a field goal until Knagg's game-winner and was just 2-for 6 from the free-throw line.
Meanwhile Rosado hit two long 3-pointers around a Carter Cuff free throw and it quickly was a five-point game.
Rosado's off-balance shot with just over a minute to play finally tied the score. Lake Wales had two possession with 16. 7 seconds left but could not score a field goal. Gary Love, however, hit a free throw to with 8.8 seconds left to finally give Lake Wales the lead. He missed the second shot, which proved costly when Knaggs went the distance.
"They're a veteran team," Lake Wales coach Bobby Banks said. "They're smart. We'll get there."
For Auburndale, Tre Jackson scored 19 points and Nehemiah Turner and Cuff each scored 13 points. Turner's presence inside made it difficult for Lake Wales to score in the paint.
Rickjerlin Senior Felix scored 13 points before fouling out.
7A-9: Winter Haven 77, George Jenkins 37
Winter Haven ran away from George Jenkins to advance to the 7A-9 district championship game. Winter Haven will play host to Plant City at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Jamie Phillips Jr. went over 1,000 career points in the first quarter and led Winter Haven with 19 points. Isaac Celiscar scored 18 points, and Kjei Parker added 13 points.
Dylan James scored eight points. For his career, James has more than 1,100 points, 800 rebounds and 275 blocks. Matt Vaughn also scored eight points.
Jaquan Cross scored nine points to lead Jenkins.
6A-7: Bartow 64, Kathleen 46
Bartow outscored Kathleen by 25 points in the first and fourth quarters combined to pull away for the victory.
After Bartow pulled out to a 15-3 lead in the first quarter, Kathleen battled back in the next two quarter and trailed by just five points, 38-33, going into the final quarter.
Bartow then outscored Kathleen 26-13 in the final quarter to finally pull away.
Jayson Williams led Bartow with 19 points and 17 rebounds. Demarion Smith added 11 points
Malakai Broffitt led Kathleen with 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting (61.5 percent) and pulled down eight rebounds. Jeremy Russell added 14 points and six rebounds.
6A-7: Lakeland 93, Lake Gibson 60
The Dreadnaughts cruised past the Braves to reach the championship game, and will host Bartow at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Rolijah Hardy led the Blue Devils with 17 points, seven steals, four assists and two rebounds. Kale Emhorst added 15 points, three rebounds and two steals, and Vari Burton added 13 points, five rebounds and two steals.
3A-7: Santa Fe Catholic 61, Seffner Christian 45
Santa Fe Catholic overcame a slow start and went on to defeat Seffner Christian in the district semifinals to advance to the title game.
Santa Fe will play host to Bell Creek at 7 p.m. on Friday for the district title.
The Crimson Hawks were led by senior Zeq Munoz and sophomore Tate Darner, who each scored 14 points.
Seffner Christian led, 17-10, after the first quarter but Santa Fe got rolling in the second quarter. The Crimson Hawks outscored Seffner Christian, 14-5, to take a two-point halftime lead then used a 39-23 advantage in the second half to pull away.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Auburndale wins in final seconds; Winter Haven, Lakeland, Bartow reach finals
