There is little doubt that when it comes to any sport they compete against, Dillard and Ely provide plenty of excitement, tradition and neighborhood competition.
In football, they call the game ‘The Soul Bowl”. In any other sport they compete against, it competition, and on Saturday night, that competition was once again fast and furious.
Despite trailing by as many as 13 points in the first half and eight at halftime, Dillard never gave up, using Fred Landers’ 31 points and 10 rebounds in an 80-73 BCAA Big 8 Championship win at Fort Lauderdale High.
Landers, who was the MVP of the three-day event, and his teammates spent the first and second quarters trying to claw their way out of a deficit, and they didn’t take their first lead until 1:18 remained in the third quarter. That was part of a 24-point third quarter for Dillard (20-3), which held Ely (18-5) to just 13 points in that frame.
At the start of the game, Ely came out and hit five 3-point shots in the first quarter alone. That gave them to a 28-17 advantage entering the second quarter
Dillard made a small dent in its 11-point deficit thanks to a nine-point quarter from Landers and a dramatic cooling of the Tigers’ three-point shooting, and the Panthers went into halftime down 41-33.
The second half was much different. Landers hit back-to-back three-pointers early in the third quarter and Eason chipped in nine points of his own in the frame.
Ely had been the defending Big-8 champs.
THREE POINT CHAMP
Fort Lauderdale’s Ryan Rampersad, shooting on his home court, defeated Plantation’s Rod McCree in the county’s three-point contest in a shootout. Both scored 14 points in the first round, and Rampersad’s 11 points bested McCree’s eight in the playoff.
REGIONAL WRESTLING
Soccer, basketball and wrestling have taken the winter spotlight, and now with playoffs going on in all sports, we are all ready to head to the warmer spring activities.
This weekend, some of the best wrestlers in the BCAA will head off to 4 regionals this week as they look to qualify for the state championships at the Lakeland Center on Feb. 18-19.
In 1A, perennial power Cardinal Gibbons will host the 4-1A region on Friday and Saturday. The Chiefs go in as the favorite to win it all.
In 2A, Jensen Beach will play host as a few BCAA programs look to make a name.
The 3A regionals at Park Vista (3-3A) and Miami’s Ronald Reagan (4-3A) are two of the toughest in the state. The Miami Region, which a number of southern BCAA schools have to compete in, is easily one of the toughest to compete in. District champion Cooper City will look to break that total Miami-Dade dominance.
You can reach Larry Blustein via e-mail at Floridakids1@hotmail.com. Blustein is the co-host of the High School Gridiron Show each Wednesday night from 9-10 on WQAM (560 AM) or www.wqam.com.
You can also follow us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/larryblustein |
