Boys basketball: Winter Haven, Lakeland, Auburndale roll up big wins in first round
WINTER HAVEN — Winter Haven's Isaac Celiscar said it was just a matter of the Blue Devils finding their rhythm, and once they did, it hardly was music to Sarasota Riverview's ears.
Trailing by one point late in the first half, Winter Haven scored nine consecutive points to end the half then ran the Rams off the court in the third quarter en route to an 81-66 victory on Thursday night in the Class 7A, Region 3 quarterfinals at the Jack Deedrick Gymnasium.
Winter Haven (24-4) will play Tampa Plant (19-10) at home at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Riverview (10-18) was overmatched by Winter Haven's size and talent. The Blue Devils, however, started sluggish, settled for outside shots and didn't have its usual strong ball movement. The Rams took advantage by staying close.
Jamie Phillips Jr.'s 3-pointer to end the first quarter gave Winter Haven a 3-point lead after one quarter. However, Riverview stayed close and Cole Coggins' 3-pointer put Riverview up 27-25.
Riverview still led 29-28 with about two minutes left in the half when Winter Haven came to life.
Winter Haven forced four late turnovers, which allowed them to run the court. Back-to-back baskets by Celiscar and a 3-point play staked the Blue Devils' 9-0 to end the half with Winter Haven leading 37-29.
"We helped them with that," Riverview coach Kendall Ellis said. "We had six turnovers in the first half, and four in the last 90 seconds. A team that good and with that much talent, they don't need any help. They're hard enough to beat when you can play perfect."
Phillips opened the second half with a field goal, and Winter Haven exploded for 34 points in the quarter, nearly double Riverview's 18 points.
"We started out slow and underestimated them, but we picked it up," Phillips said.
Winter Haven's largest lead was 32 points, 77-45, and the Blue Devils went deep into its bench for the final four minutes of the game.
"When we move the ball and play the game the right way, it's very easy," Woodside said. "We have talented people who love to score. We were really upset with them (in the first half). It wasn't selfish, but they weren't looking to make the extra pass."
Phillips led all scorers with 24 points. Celiscar scored 16 points, Kjei Parker scored 15 points, and Dylan James added 13 points, which included a couple of monster dunks that stirred the crowd.
Jason Jackson led Riverview with 23 points, and sophomore Rys Gamble scored 11 points.
6A-2: Lakeland 73, Oviedo 55
Leading by five points at halftime, Lakeland pulled away from Oviedo in the third quarter, outscoring the Lions, 25-12, and went on to the 18-point victory in the 6A-2 Region quarterfinals.
Lakeland actually trailed by a point after the third quarter but outscored Oviedo, 18-12 to take the 34-29 halftime lead.
Lakeland had balanced scoring in each quarter with six to eight players scoring in three of the four quarters and five players scoring in the other.
Daidren Zipperer and Derajah Hardy led Lakeland with 12 points apiece. Shanard Clower scored eight of his nine points in the third quarter. Kale Elmhorst also had eight points. Eleven players scored at least two points for the Dreadnaughts.
For Oviedo, Ryan Blount scored a game-high 21 points, and Alex Harper scored 18 points.
Lakeland (23-4), the No. 2 seed in the region, will play No. 3-seed Orlando Edgewater (17-10) in the semifinals at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at home.
5A-2: Auburndale 66, Lecanto 49
The Bloodhounds easily advanced to the region semifinals with a 17-point victory. Auburndale (21-8) will Tampa Jesuit (22-6) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Tracy McGrady Gymnasium.
3A-2: West Palm Beach King's Academy 81, Santa Fe Catholic 70
The Crimson Hawks became the first Polk County team to be eliminated from the 2023 playoffs with an 11-point loss.
2A-2: Victory Christian 81, City of Life 62
Mike Andino paced the Storm to the one-sided victory with 20 points. LJ Cason scored 19 points with eight rebounds, and 10 assists and Jozia Scott added 11 points. Andrej Milutinoovic chipped in with eight points and six rebounds.
Victory Christian (23-5) will play Central Florida Christian in the region semifinals at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at home.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Boys Basketball: Winter Haven, Lakeland, Auburandale roll up big wins
