Calvary Christian basketball, tinged with Palm Beach County stars, routs Lake Worth in MLK showcase
As Calvary Christian freshman point guard Cayden Daughtry walked off the Lake Worth High court Friday night after ringing up 28 points, he bellowed, “This is my city.’’
Indeed, Daughtry and a Palm Beach County-flavored Calvary Christian squad made the packed Lake Worth High gymnasium its own in a stunning 83-58 rout of the Trojans in the MLK Challenge.
It was billed as the “Battle of the Goliaths’’ but only Calvary Christian showed its toughness as it led by at least 17 points in the final 15 minutes and wound up winning by 25.
Both juggernauts are ranked in the state and Calvary Christian (11-5) showed why it is No. 1 in Class 4A and 8th overall in Florida.
Afterward, an angry Lake Worth coach Frank Baxley spent more than 25 minutes lecturing his players behind closed doors for a sloppy, turnover-filled rout.
The Eagles of Broward County boast three Palm Beach County transfers – Daughtry from Somerset-Canyons, senior point guard Stone Bureau from Suncoast and 6-foot-6 sophomore rangy shooting guard Collin Paul, who played for Jupiter Christian last season and is more about potential than results at this moment.
Daughtry lives just a 10-minute drive from the Lake Worth Road campus. “It’s a big win for us,’’ Daughtry said. “Coming from the city I live in, I had to show everybody this is my city.’’
Daughtry has a sweet handle and crafty moves. He hit a lovely floater in the lane, sank a handful of neat driving layups high off the glass and drained five 3-pointers.
“I play hard and bring IQ,’’ Daughtry said. “The best part, we all know, it’s my shooting. That’s what got me many of those points today.’’
Daughtry and Bureau share the backcourt despite both being point guards. Bureau finished with 9 points and as the primary ballhandler, didn’t have a turnover. Paul comes off the bench and his best is in the future.
“Those three guys decided they wanted to come over to a program like ours that we established, and they’ve taken us to another level,’’ coach Cilk McSweeney said. “They’re young but ready to play. They’ve been in a lot of tough games in a lot of different environments. Whether we’ve been in Kentucky or Las Vegas, they’re ready to play. And they did their thing tonight.’’
Bureau and Daughtry have developed a strong chemistry. “They’re working well together,’’ Daughtry said. “This is the first time they’ve played together. Within our system, it allows them to be free and create shots for each other.’’
Cavalry Christian got other contributions as John Roland pounded the offensive boards and finished with 24 points and lefty point forward Shon Abaer outclassed Lake Worth’s defenders on his way to 14 points with a silky jumper and sleek drives.
Lake Worth’s size did nothing to stop the visitors. The Trojans, ranked 15th in Florida and 4th in Class 7A, have five players 6-foot-5 or taller but didn’t use its size or impose its will enough.
“We knew Lake Worth is good,’’ McSweeney said. “But we set our program at a standard of excellence and every single day we strive to achieve it and today we did that. We shot the ball well and got stops. Our game plan was good keeping them off the boards because they got some size. They’re long and athletic.’’
There is indeed plenty of talent on the 11-5 Trojans but “The Maroon” didn’t show cohesion in its season's worst performance and got beat up on the boards. Their superstar 6-6 power forward Hedrens Barthelus scored 18 points and guard Sean Standifer added 11 but otherwise this was a troubling outing.
“We beat ourselves more than anything,’’ Barthelus said. “There was a lot of stuff going on between teammates, too many turnovers happening and we have to play defense as a team. I don’t think they’re better than us at all, but we have to come together and stop turning the ball over.’’
Asked if Baxley laid into the team, Barthelus said, “Yes, because the path we are supposed to be taking, we’re going off course. We got to wake up from this because there are going to be bigger battles down the line.’’
Barthelus had a myriad of dunks but on one of his fastbreak jams after a steal, with the game still close late in the first quarter, he got called for a technical. Barthelus had trash-talked the defender he dunked on.
“That’s part of the game honestly,’’ Barthelus said.
In the early game of the MLK event, state powerhouse Miami Country Day girls routed Dwyer, 54-29.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Calvary Christian basketball pounds Lake Worth in showcase matchup
