BCAA Big 8 Championships: 5 Takeaways (Day 2)

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FORT LAUDERDALE — Pines Charter and Stranahan advanced at the 23rd BCAA Big 8 Championships Thursday night with overtime and one-possession victories, respectively, at Fort Lauderdale High.

Pines Charter owned the extra period to defeat Boyd Anderson, 80-74, while Stranahan rallied to down Miramar, 46-44. Here is a look at Day 2.

JAGUARS’ PRESSURE DOES THE TRICK

Boyd Anderson scored the first three points of overtime to go up 72-69. But Pines Charter’s press turned the tide from there as the Cobras kept turning the ball over. Nova Southeastern guard recruit Dallas Graziani scored 8 points in the extra period, including going 6 for 6 from the free-throw line. “It got crazy,” Pines Charter’s Graziani said. “It looked like we had it [with] about 50 seconds [left] … we should have won it in regulation but had some mistakes and they ended up tying it up and it went into overtime. We just kept fighting.”

PINES CHARTER GOES TO 19-1

With the victory, Pines Charter upped its record to 19-1. The Jaguars were 11-15 just a season ago.

Pines Charter’s lone loss? You guessed it: Friday night’s opponent in the semifinals, Oakland Park Northeast. Northeast defeated the Jaguars, 89-81, back in the second game of the season.

GRAZIANI WITH GAME-HIGH 25

Graziani led all scorers with 25 points — 17 coming after halftime — and had several excellent passes that led to layups. Junior Javen Smith (14 points), senior big Amarchi Ujabour (13) and junior Pete Laidley (11) also finished in double figures for the Jaguars. Senior guard Martin Mercedes had a nice game for BA with 23 points — 17 of which also came after halftime. Senior Kemari Brown added 15 points and Gudner Jean-Francois 11.

STRANAHAN RALLIES

Stranahan whipped Miramar by 16, 67-51, back on Jan. 13, but had to rally in the BCAA quarterfinals. The Dragons didn’t lead until junior Mario Bynes canned a 3-pointer with just 2:02 remaining in the third quarter for a 31-30 advantage. Senior guard Chayse Culpepper led the way with 11 points, including two big 3-pointers. “We’ve been starting off slow,” Culpepper said. “We just kept fighting. Coach told us at halftime we haven’t been playing to our fullest potential. But we’re keeping it going. Sky’s the limit when we play defense. We’re looking forward to tomorrow [vs. Dillard].” Bynes finished second in scoring with 8 points.

MIRAMAR’S BEST SHOT

Citadel 2020 guard recruit Brent Davis led Miramar with 13 points and sophomore Deshawn Jean-Charles added 11 points and 8 rebounds. Stranahan coach Terrence Williams said he knew his squad was going to get Miramar’s best shot. “We knew they were going to come out aggressive, because the first game we beat them by 16 and I know coach [Tramaine Stevens] he didn’t like that loss,” Williams said. Friday night’s Stranahan-Dillard showdown in the semifinals will match up two programs that played in state championship games back in March.

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

Northeast 57, Western 49

Dillard 77, Fort Lauderdale 56

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

Stranahan 46, Miramar 44

Pines Charter 80, Boyd Anderson 74 (OT)

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE

6:30 p.m. — Dillard vs. Stranahan

8 p.m. — Northeast vs. Pines Charter

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE

7:30 p.m. — Championship game

If you have high school or travel basketball news, you can reach Pat Lammer via e-mail at PatALammer@Gmail.com