Road-warrior NFEI clears obstacles for Sagemont rematch in FHSAA boys hoops final four

The word: Sagemont.

That's the word on the minds of North Florida Educational Institute's basketball squad for one year now, after the South Florida school knocked NFEI out of last year's Florida High School Athletic Association final four.

Just ask senior guard Tommie Hall.

"It's motivated me the whole summer, the whole school year, to just get back to where we started and finish it this time," Hall said.

On Wednesday afternoon, NFEI gets a chance to turn the tables on Weston Sagemont on that same RP Funding Center court in Lakeland in the FHSAA Class 2A boys basketball semifinal.

And, for head coach Stacey Poole Jr., it's been a long road back to Lakeland. During the season, they lost their leading scorer and lost their home court advantage. But they didn't lose their team spirit — and that's why they're back in the final four.

"All of it just comes with hard work, dedication, just the will to win," Poole said. "There's no other way to put it. A lot of adversity this year, a lot of things that have come up against us. But this team here is special, man."

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REMATCH OF A CLASSIC

For NFEI, the wounds are still fresh from last March.

That's when the Northside school and their Broward County opponents met in a thriller of a Class 2A semifinal, electrifying the Lakeland crowd in one of Florida's top final-four offensive displays for years.

For the Eagles, guard Isaac Taveras soared high in an unforgettable performance with 44 points. But it wasn't enough: Sagemont senior Adrian Cruz led the Lions to the 76-72 win with 40.

In some ways, the rosters have almost entirely changed. Cruz is now playing college basketball at NCAA Division II Limestone, and Taveras — the leading scorer for NFEI both last year and this season — has been out of action since late January. Only one starter, guard Tommie Hall, remains for the Eagles.

But in spite of the roster turnover, Poole said the lessons from last year's meeting with Sagemont still hold.

"Just some minor things that we took account," Poole said. "We didn't rebound as well as we should've, we missed some free throws that could've taken us for the win. Overall, it's going to be a battle."

CLEARING THE HURDLES

The loss of Taveras is only one of the many obstacles the Eagles have faced this season.

Most recently, they had to complete the entire district and regional tournament schedule on the road as a result of a ruling handed down by the FHSAA in response to an early-season altercation.

That meant trips to Ocala Redeemer Christian in the opening round, a trip to Quincy Crossroad Academy and triple-double machine Kris Parker in the second stage, and finally cross-town rival Impact Christian in the regional final.

The road-warrior Eagles survived them all: 87-43 against Redeemer, 94-85 against Crossroad and 55-46 against Impact.

"Over these last couple of weeks, I think we've improved our defense, our intensity," Hall said.

WINNING WITH BALANCE

In the season's stretch run, NFEI has found that balance is its key to victory.

As Poole says, "the theme is more team."

"Everybody can put it in the bucket," Poole said. "We're a great defensive team, we rebound very well. So there's a lot of pieces that we feel from last year that we're doing better at."

Each night, someone else stands out. Against Crossroad, senior Jeremiah Kwarteng scored 22 points and junior Kemauny Welch added 12, supported by a Hall double-double (17 points, 10 assists). In the first round, it was Juan Batista coming through with a game-high 20, and 6-9 Odaine Clahar pulled down 13 rebounds.

That, in 2023, is the NFEI way. And as they count down the hours to their Lakeland return and a shot at revenge against Sagemont, they're ready for the chance to bring back the city's first boys basketball trophy for seven years.

"It's my last go for it all," Hall said, "so I want it pretty bad."

"We learned a lot, and it's fresh," Poole said. "We're back in it and we just want to go finish the job."

CLASS 2A STATE SEMIFINAL

North Florida Educational Institute (22-8) vs. Weston Sagemont (27-4)

4 p.m. Wednesday

RP Funding Center, Lakeland

After last year's experience in Lakeland, NFEI fully understands the danger from Sagemont already. Even though 2022 scoring ace Adrian Cruz is now in the college ranks at Division II Limestone, Sagemont is still an up-tempo, high-scoring team that racks up more than 73 points per game. The Lions are loaded with seniors, including four with double-figure scoring averages: Tynan Becker (13.7), Maxx Martinez (12.0), Cameron Gibson (11.9) and Ashton Smith (10.5). Sagemont also has big-time size with 6-8 Danielius Kasparas (9.6 points, 4.2 rebounds) and 6-9 Kenneth Lopez (6.9 points, 5.0 rebounds). The winner will play for the championship at 4:30 p.m. Friday against Orlando Christian Prep or Tampa SLAM.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school boys basketball 2023: NFEI ready for final four rematch