LAKELAND – It’s first time in Lakeland, University Christian (28-4) learned a valuable rookie lesson; don’t put yourself in a deep hole you can’t dig out of.
For one quarter, the Christians went toe-to-toe with two time defending state champions Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy, but that quickly changed.
Ahead 17-14 starting the second quarter, Westminster went on a 17-6 run during the quarter to pull ahead 34-20 at the half.
U.C. spent the entire second half trying to play catch up but came up short in its bid to play for the schools first state title in the programs 38 years history dropping a 64-57 decision to Westminster in the Class 4A state semifinals.
Yet despite the big hole, UC found a way to keep digging cutting the lead down to seven heading into the final quarter. The lead was trimmed down to five and the Christians had a chance to cut it down to one final possession.
Down 62-57 with under 30 seconds left, Michael Griffin got a great look and pulled up for a three-pointer that hit the rim and bounced off, which would have made it 62-60 with 21 seconds left.
“That’s not the reason we lost, although I did say something in the huddle during the timeout about needing a shot,” UC head coach Keith Stroud. “You’re either the GOAT or the Hero or everyone’s going to blame you, its like missing a dunk that’s a huge momentum swing the other way.”
UC was forced to foul as Denzell Wiggins fouled Sam Griffin, Griffin converted both to extend the lead to 62-57 with 14 seconds left.
Down five, Joe Carter pulled up for a three pointer with seconds left and Andrew Daceus grabbed the rebound allowing the Lions to run the clock out and move on to their fourth straight state finals.
“We knew it was going to be a hard fought game and a dog fight, ” Westminster head coach Ehren Wallhoff said. “This is our fourth straight year here, to get to the final again is a testament to our program.
“We knew our defense stopping them was the key, their first time being here we knew they would be a little bit intimidated, but credit to them for making a run, just a couple shots didn’t fall for them.”
“When you get to this point, you can’t dig yourself a hole especially in that second quarter,” U.C. head coach Keith Stroud said.
“I thought we came out in the second half and out played them but its hard to comeback from such a big hole. This group fought and didn’t roll up, we cut it to 5, they just hit more shots.”
UC was led by Denzel Wiggins, who scored a team high 21 points, Lenzy Hancock chipped in 16 points and 9 rebounds, Griffin added 9 points and 4 rebounds and G’shan Aldridge finished with 6 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds.
Westminster was led by Sam Griffin, who scored a game high 25 points, Chase Johnston added 20 points, Stephan Swenson contributed 10 points and Ben Middlebrooks who added 17 rebounds and 8 blocks.
“We came out with a little edge, it can be a little intimidating being here but I wouldn’t use it as a excuse. With the schedule we have played, we beat No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 to get here, this was a big game for us but I tried to tell them it was just another game.
“The players were excited to be here, you never know you may only get one time to get here, so you better enjoy it while you can. I’ve been fortunate to have been here three other times.”
“They didn’t do anything different in that second quarter, they just hit more shots,” Stroud said. “We had 61 offensive possessions and they had 43 possessions, we only had 7 turnovers to their 20, it wasn’t because of turnovers we just couldn’t shoot.”
U.C. shot 32% from the floor and an abysmal 16% from three-point range a big reason for the deficit.
However, what allowed the Christians to stay in the game was solid free throw shooting as they converted 13 of 17 free throws for 76%, with most of their misses coming at the end of the game during clutch time.
As far as next year, U.C. will only return five players on its roster as the Christians say goodbye to seven seniors and will look to a young team to getting back to Lakeland again. Stroud will look to junior Lenzy Hancock Jr., sophomores Kobe Denmark and Carter along with freshmen Jaden Brill and Justice Jones.
While Westminster (23-4) will play for its fourth overall state title (2002, 2017, 2018) and potential third straight title tomorrow against Seffner Christian, a 69-58 winner over Riveria Prep, at 2 p.m. in the Class 4A state title game.
