Wekiva's season to remember ends just short of the ultimate goal

As the final of the state championship tournament tipped off last Saturday, March 4, the most succesful season in Wekiva Mustangs' history had long been achieved.

Since beginning play 10 seasons ago, Wekiva has forged itself into a potential district championship and state final-four participant every season among the basketball landscape.

But turning the potential into the fruition of being one of the last two Class 9A teams still playing when the FHSAA state tournament came to a close at long last took far more than just playing well over the last month. Three was the most important factor for jthe Mustangs. As in this team has been playing together for the last three seasons and under the guidence of the coaches.

And suffering the most extreme swings during the time together, the results of this season came from relentless behind-the-scenes work put in by the team day after day. While learning the most important lessons about winning, nothing less than playing in the final of the FHSAA state tournament was the business at hand clearly reflected.

"Not just this season, but the entire three and even four (as some of the players were together) has been a wonderful experience and the best ride of my career," Wekiva coach Gersino Lubin said. "The word proud doesn't come close to thoroughly explaining the coaches feelings towards the players. The feeling which comes from mkaing the kind of progress we did after four seasons is so much more than pride. We went from being a group of undersized, inexperienced and struggling-to-find our footing team to a battle-tested state finalist. The desire was always there, which was the basis for the progression.

"Then the players were willing to trust the coaches and the vision of how to use the talent. Having that kind of trust is a sign of strong character. It realize talking about character is cliche. But as a coach, I can tell a lot of stories about young men who question the coaches. These players never did."

An overall record of 26-6 was compiled by the Mustangs. By virtue of victories over Apopka and West Orange, the first district championship was claimed. Then University, Boone, Oviedo and South Miami fell to Wekiva during the FHSAA State tournament.

This season's final-four consisted of sixth-ranked Wekiva taking on top-ranked South Miami. Then second-ranked Osceola emerged with an emotional 52-50 victory over fourth ranked Wellington. An over-the-top pass into the paint created one last attempt at a lay-up, which Osceola converted.

Kevaun Smith, Tyrone Perry, Keon Morris, Samuel Bostick, Marcus Davis, Ryan Jones, Ruben Sheppard, Paul Reed, Germaine Torres, Darion Holloway, Jeremy Johnson and Dominic Mitchell made up the 2016-17 Mustangs.

Region champions are as follows: Wekiva-1, Osceola-2, Wellington-3 and South Miami-4.

All semifinals and finals for each classificatoin were held at the Lakeland Center.

State Tournament Final

Saturday, March 4

Osceola 59 Wekiva 47

One slow start or an authoratative come-from-behind-run lasting about two possessions too short was all which stood in the way of the Wekiva Mustangs achieving the ultimate goal every athlete plays for, a state championship. The Osceola Kowboys emerged as the victor of the final by a 59-47 score and completed the season with an overall record of 30-2.

Taking advantage of poor shooting, Osceola took an early lead. Then made enough plays during the fourth quarter to hold off a hard-charging rally bringing the Mustangs to within two points.

Tevin Florent, Isiah Palermo and Brady Fernandes combined to score 45 points. Only one Wekiva player reached double-digits as Paul Reed tallied 18 points. A staple of the Mustangs' successful attack throughout the season was not continued as the rebounding advantage was held by Kowboys, 34-26. Also and unlike the semifinal contest against South Miami, getting to the free throw line simply did not occur for Wekiva. Against South Miami, 29 attempts were taken. The number dropped all the way to four against the Kowboys.

"Heading into the state final-four, the coaches felt the team was preapred from A to Z, for every situation," Lubin said. "Of course, preparation in itself doesn't mean Wekiva is going to win and the opponent feels the same. However, to shoot so poorly was not expected and basically we had to overcome both Osceola and dealing with being out of the comfort zone. The coaches thought and logically, the team would be nervous and uncomfortable when the state semifinal began, not the final.

"Perhaps the nervousness wasn't the only reason for the mistakes. However, our play certainly wasn't as settled as the Kowboys or at a level equivalent to a final. The mistake were at the beginning and the end of the contest, which is where Osceola won. We opened the door for the Kowboys to take the lead and set the tone of playing from ahead. Then we allowed what was basically the same after threatening to come all the way back because we had settled into our game."

The first three field goal attempts taken by Osceola were converted. Only 2:40 into the contest, the Kowboys had taken and extended the lead to 7-0. Wekiva failed to convert the first seven field attempts taken.

Points were then traded during the rest of the first quarter, ending with a 13-6 score.

Field goal percentages for the Mustangs during the quarter was 20 percent as only three of 20 attempts were converted. Twelve field goals were taken by Osceola and five sank for a percentage of 41.7.

"During morning practice, nothing was unusual, including shooting the ball," Lubin said. "The Kowboys played real well to get to the final, but got a couple of breaks and good fortune as well. So an advantage for us was perceived as we had made critcal runs during every contest to get to the final.

"But Osceola was more aggressive team from the beginning while we were hesitant, which only exasperated the poor shooting. Perhaps we took a handful of bad field goal attempts. Still, we are shooters. We made our living shooting the ball and advanced to the final by shooting the ball with the purpose of putting pressure on the opponents, having to constantly focus on covering the field goal. The most costly mistakes were on the defensive end, missing assignments and in particular when relying on defense to reduce the deficit. Missing assignments is hard to overcome because the deficit being made up is being given back."

At halftime, the lead was extended to 28-14.

Then a slam dunk by Fernandes brought the largest lead of the contest with 5:40 left in the third quarter. The lead was 32-16 after a Mustang turnover opened the door for the slam dunk.

However, with Lubin's speech about lacking the heart of a champion and the time to put on thebig boy shorts had arrived at halftime still ringing in the ears, Wekiva was far from done as new life was found through the most unexpected of sources.

Riding the switch to a 1-3-1 zone defense, the Mustangs scored 17 of the next 20 points.

Jeremy Johnson muscled into the lane and powered over the defense to score on a lay-up and draw a foul. Converting the free throw, the old-fashioned three-point play began the run.

Two treys as well as tipping-in an offensive rebound from Reed, another lay-up by Johnson, a six-foot jumper on the left baseline and a trey from Keon Morris and suddenly the lead was a scant 35-33 with :18 seconds left in the third quarter.

The teams then traded baskets at the start of the fourth quarter, keeping the lead at two points.

But "a couple of missed assignments here and there when using the 1-3-1 had that culmative effect of causing the weightiest damage to us," Lubin said. "We were employing the full court press during the second and third qaurters with a bit of success. Some points were scored because of turnovers caused by the full-court press. However, the issue was we were facing a double-digit deficit and needed to get turnovers and score consecutive points. Even though using the press wasn't hurting us, we couldn't afford to trade points and Osceola was using a lot of the clock with each possession. So we switched to the 1-3-1 zone because Osceola had to be forced into at least attempting set up a play.

"We get to within a possession and have forced Osceola out of the comfort zone for the first time and some out of synch play is taking place. Then the missed assignments occur and the Kowboys go backdoor for an easy field goal attempt. A one-possession score become six or seven points just like that. In a low-scoring contest, that swing is huge because the pace of field goal attempts being taken is much slower. The opportunites to score aren't as frequent as in the kind of contest we like, high scoring, up-and-down the court pace.

Two stretches in which Osceola scored three conseutive points were critical to the outcome. During the rally by the Mustangs, Omar Payne scored on a slam dunk and Frankie Fabian on a free throw, "providing Osceola with just enough seperation or breathing room," Lubin said. "The Kowboys remained in the position of playing from ahead and we were still trying to recover. If we tie, the whole feel and strategy is different. No one is playing from ahead anymore.

"Osceola deserves credit for understanding the situation and then remaining focused on playing to the situation throughout the entire contest. Some hard punches were absorbed, but hte Kowboys never became unsettled. The same game was played by Osceola during the run. Much like we have with Keon, the Kowboys executed those couple of plays which keep the team from panicking and allowing the run to feel like the sky is falling because some breathing room exists. Despite how hard the punches we have been taking are, we still don't have to force the issue or play with a high-risk-high reward urgency was how Osceola handled and eventually weathered the run. We had fought back to cut the lead to two points, but were still chasing the lead and had no breathing room."

The three points pushed the Kowboys' lead back to 11. At that juncture of the contest and midway through the third quarter, the score was 35-24. And the points kept Osceola ahead entering the fourth quarter, 37-33.

A free throw by Joshua Marte and a finger-roll completing a drive through the lane by Palermo re-extended the lead from 37-35 to 40-35 early in the fourth qaurter.

Then with 1:49 left the margin was psuhed past two possessions as Fabian tipped in an offensive rebound. After never allowing more than three points in a row to be put on the board during the fourth quarter, the Kowboys culminated the knockout of the Mustangs with a steal and lay-up by Fernandes 35 seconds later.

Osceola drained seven of eight free throws during the last minute to secure the victory.

As the contest continued, the Mustangs' field goal percentage improved. But Osceola's also improved, rendering the category a push. Converting 14-of-31 attempts, the Mustangs' percentage was 45.2 during the second half. At the other end, 10-of-19 attempts found the bottom of the net for a percentage of 52.6.

"To come so close is obviously a disappointment," Lubin said. "However, the positives of this season will far outnumber and outweigh that negative when I look back. I hope the other coaches and players feel the same. How many other teams can even say they were trailing by two points as the fourth qaurter of the FHSAA's state tournament final began?

"Again, this was the best ride of my career and the other coaches and players have the opportunity to say the same. Looking forward to next season and having a program capable of continuing to contend for the district championship and berths into the FHSAA state championship is already taking place."

State Tournament Semifinal

Friday, March 3

Wekiva 73 South Miami 59

What appeared to be the traditional destiny associated with the state final four quickly derailed when the Wekiva Mustangs and the South Miami Cobras faced off last Friday, March 3. Until shortly before halftime, the two semifinalists fighting tooth-and-nail for the right to advance to the final of the FHSAA state tournament as the last seconds tick off was right on schedule. But by the time the clock expired, the Mustangs decided to forgo the schedule of the expected drama reaching the most intense peak during the waning seconds, taking on the role of the derailer without hesitation long before to the tune of a 73-59 victory.

However, the other semifinal was decided on the last possession. An over-the-top pass into the paint created one last attempt at a lay-up, which Osceola converted to defeat Wellington by a 52-50 score.

"Winning feels good and reason to celebrate," Mustangs coach Gersino Lubin said. "But the celebration was mature and experience. We shook hands, smiled and spent only a few minutes on the floor after the contest. The players have already changed out of the uniforms and are at courtside to watch the other semifinal. The mindset is the business we came here to take care of and have pursued since the season began isn't quite complete. We know what and how to use our strengths because of that maturity and experience. Throughout the season, we have continued to put ourselves in the position to use our strengths because we kept our poise and composure throughout each contest, regardless of what the opponent is doing.

"The state final-four is the biggest stage and brightest lights we have been at in the tangible sense of the the state championship is being played for. However, being together for the last three seasons, this team has played in a lot of big contests. In particular, that maturity and experience which was developed when playing in those big contests was present during the second half, when the lead was for the taking."

As familiar a sight as there is to the Wekiva faithful, another balanced attack was forged. Paul Reed was first among equals with 28 points and 13 rebounds. Three other players also totaled double-digits for the scoring column. Jeremy Johnson (12), Keon Morris (11) and Tyrone Perry (10). Johnson added another six rebounds. The weightiest of team statistics was free throws. Not only did the Mustangs get to the free throw line an inordinate amount of times, but no points were left on the table. Converting 27-of-29 attempts for a percentage of 93.1, Wekiva put in a sensational performance.

One less player totaled double-digits for hte Cobras. High-scorer for South Miami was Ezacuras Dawson III with 26 points, followed by Kaevon Tyler's 13 and Miguel Arnold's 11. At the free throw line, the Cobras converted nine of 19 attempts.

"Winning today was the result of the maturity and experience I spoke of providing the proper preparation for the moment not being too big," Lubin said. "That moment was not only the general of playing in the state final-four for the first time, but what we specifically prepared for deciding the outcome as the second half began. There is always a couple of specific purposes a team practices with. But this week, we went ouf of our way when identifying those specifc purposes. The purpose at the top of the list was to prepare to play in a completely different kind of gym than the usual for a high school team.

"Playing in a high school gym is not the same as the Lakeland Center. The Lakeland Center is an arena, not a gym, which goes along with playing on the biggest stage and brightest lights. Most importantly, those differences are everywhere, including and most importantly for the team, including how the ball bounces on the floor and at the rim. Practices were held at Wekiva, UCF, Rollins and the Lakeland Center. Acclimating ourselves to the bigger, more spacious gyms and learning what adjustments have to be made in order to get the ball in the basket was the specific purpose of practicing at the locations."

Back-and-forth basketball jabs taken by both teams was featured during the first half. The result was the Cobras held the largest lead during the first half, but at only four points. Also, the score was tied or the lead exchanged hands a combined 15 times.

But like any contest or match in any sport, the time for feeling out the opponent passes and muscle is required to win. And when Wekiva's jabs grew into basketball muscle being executed with the utmost fludity as the critical stretch of time arrived, the Cobras did not meet the challenge.

The catalyst for that Wekiva muscle making such a poweful appearance at the right time was the full-court press providing the opportunities to apply the purpose of practicing at the four different locations, learning the different nuances of each basket and floor played on.

"During a lot of critical possessions, the ball took the right roll or bounce for usbecause we understood the nuances of playing in a more spacious and bigger location, which was combined with the poise and composure being kept throughout," Lubin said. "The number of free throw attempts and field goal percentage rarely fail to work hand-in-hand. How this contest was affected by the specific direction we prepared with is centered around getting to the free throw line 29 times and converting 27."

Throughout the season, the Mustangs have used their version of the full-court press as a compliment to the primary half-court man-to-man defense being employed. Picking certain times to employ the full-court press, Wekiva has adhered to the motto of quality over quantity. Employing full court presses has been the standard or the Cobras. So in what became a battle of full-court presses as the second half began, Wekiva produced the costliest damage of the contest by taking a page out of the South Miami playbook, scoring 14 of 16 points.

Figuratively and literally, the Mustangs never looked back.

With 29 seconds left before halftime, Wekiva tied the score and in the process, the push to victory was put in motion. Completing a drive into the lane with a strong spinning lay-up, Jeremy Johnson executed a lay-up off the backboard.

Off-balance field goal attempts twice taken by the Cobras which clanked off the rim was how the first half ended.

Stop, step forward and rise, Tyrone Perry created and sank a six-feet leaning field goal from the paint to put Wekiva ahead for good at 30-28. Perry's conversion occured on the first possession of the second half.

After the Mustangs took the lead, Reed scored seven more points while Perry added another three. A six-foot turnaround from inside the paint, two free throws and executign the old-fashioned three-point play (Converting a free throw after drawing a foul while tipping in an offesnive rebound) accounted for Reed's points during the run. The other points came on another trey from Perry.

Once again, quality looks was at the heart of Wekiva's challenge and fueled by the full-court press.

Field goal attempts being converted by the Mustangs were at a fairly high percentage during the first half. But that highest level of percentages for converting field goal attempts was consistently created during the second half by Wekiva. Five of six attempts were drained by the Mustangs during the run. In the meantime, the Cobras attempted only three field goals because four turnovers were committed. Points were scored by Wekiva off all four turnovers. Transition was also created by the long rebounds following the two missed field goals taken by the Cobras.

Further proof of Wekiva creating the better looks at the basket, the percentage was upped from an average 45.8 during the first half to 62.5 during the second. After shooting 44 from the floor during the first half, the Cobras' percentage dropped to 36.7.

When all was said and done Wekiva was holding a 40-30 lead with 5:10 left in the third quarter.

The lead was extended to 54-43 at the end of the quarter.

Sinking 13 of 15 attempts from the free throw line during the fourth quarter, the Mustangs secured the victory.

"Having to deal with suddenly changing from facing no man-to-man pressure to full-court pressure was waht we were waitng for as far as strategy and the final piece of the puzzle," Lubin said. "Of course, exercising the strategy of suddenly changing to the full-court pressure is because of the maturity and experience we have. Being able to make the change by design and intentionally is a big advantage and definately seen tonight.

"This was a complete victory and the exact blueprint for how we win. Repeating the performance just one more time will be the message tommorow."

An overall record of 29-3 was compiled by South Miami.