Academy falls in regional finals
By Eugenio Torrens
Academy at the Lakes boys basketball coach Tom Haslam isn’t usually worried with a 24-point lead entering the fourth quarter, but it was not a normal game on Feb. 21.
The Wildcats (17-10) were playing at home against All Saints’ Academy (ASA) in the first regional semifinals game in program history. Tom’s nerves got worse as he saw his squad’s lead trimmed to six with only a few minutes to play.
“I was scared to death,” Tom said. “I was like ‘Oh no. We can’t lose this after being where we were,’ but they’re a good team, and I’ll be honest, a lot of our games have been like this. We don’t blow a lot of people out.”
But this academy squad has already made program history. The Wildcats had never made the playoffs before this year and their 69-61 win over ASA secured their debut in the Class 2A regional finals on Feb 25.
Orlando Christian Prep got the better of the academy 78-27, but the trip to the doorstep of the final four is a learning experience for a team that will return all but one starter next year.
The academy defeated ASA (10-6) thanks in large part to a 39-point effort from freshman guard Ethan Haslam, Tom’s son. The Wildcats’ needed Ethan’s career-high in scoring to stave off the late-surging Saints.
“It’s never pretty here, never pretty,” Tom said.
The first half anyway was pretty for the academy.
The Wildcats burst out to a 10-2 lead. ASA took a time out to try and slow the momentum, but the academy responded with an 8-2 run to mount an 18-4 lead with 2:54 left in opening period.
The second quarter followed the trend, with the Wildcats building a commanding 39-18 lead.
After three quarters, the game looked even more out of hand. It was the last 8 minutes that had everyone afterward saying how close the game was.
A potent Wildcats offense suddenly went stagnant as the Saints started making shots from all over the floor.
“I thought we’d worn them down, physically,” Tom said. “But they kept shooting, kept making shots and I give them a lot of credit.”
With less than 5 minutes remaining, ASA cut the lead to 11. Ethan’s ensuing and-one layup with 4:15 left were the first points for the academy in the fourth quarter.
“The comforting lead kind of led to a lack of energy and a lack of intensity,” Ethan said. “And then we just got in the wrong places at the wrong time and they converted on their plays and they hit some big shots.”
While the Saints drained contested buckets from beyond the arc, the Wildcats kept their lead by standing still — at the free-throw line. The academy hit just enough from the charity strip to push the game out of reach.
“This team, over the course of the season, in close games we do a lot of things right down the stretch,” Tom said.
Land O’ Lakes ousted in semis
The Land O’ Lakes boys basketball team could not win its first appearance ever in a regional semifinals contest, falling at Winter Haven 60-42.
The Gators (22-7) got 16 points from Ernest McClendon, along with 12 from Mike Morrow and eight from Jackson Cannon. The Blue Devils took advantage of their size with 6-foot-6 point guard DeVon Walker, who dropped 22.
