Pairings shake up after Lake Mary stunner heading into FHSAA boys basketball region playoffs

The stats said Lake Mary had little or no chance to end Sanford Seminole’s streak of six consecutive boys basketball district championships.

The Rams were routed by the ‘Noles 80-51 in December and lost again 70-51 a month ago.

But with the Class 7A District 2 championship and a playoff berth at stake Saturday night, Lake Mary scored a stunning 48-46 upset of top-seeded SHS in Sanford to shake up pairings for the Region 1 tournament that tips off Thursday.

Senior guard Matthew Carpione beat the buzzer with a game-winning 3-pointer to give Lake Mary (15-12) its first district championship in the sport in 28 years.

“It’s obviously really big for our community and our school,” said Sirdarious Roundtree, who landed his first head coaching job at Lake Mary last season. “I think everybody counted us out, but we believed in ourselves. We were much closer in our second game against Seminole. We knew we had a chance. Our players were prepared for the moment.”

The Rams led much of the way but were down one as they inbounded the ball at midcourt with time running out. Senior guard Jermias Berchal was double-teamed on a dribble drive and alertly kicked the ball to Carpione for his open shot from beyond the arc.

Carpione has a story of his own. He didn’t make varsity as a sophomore but tried out as a junior and earned a spot on a team that went 16-12. That marked Lake Mary’s most wins since going 17-10 in 2013-14.

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The district title pushed Lake Mary into region play ahead of five teams ranked higher than the Rams, including Hagerty (19-8), Boone (13-12), Winter Park (16-11) and Colonial (13-11).

Can the Rams play spoiler again? They are the No. 8 seed in the eight-team 7A Region 1 tournament and will travel to play top seed Evans in a Thursday quarterfinal rematch. The Trojans topped Lake Mary 69-53 a year ago in what was a homecoming for Roundtree, a 2008 Evans alum.

“Evans is home for me,” said Roundtree, who was a Trojans assistant to coach Lonza Morgan for five years before landing the Lake Mary job.

“Our styles are very similar because I took a lot of what Morgan does with me,” Roundtree said. “We both want to play disruptive defense and try to take teams out of their rhythm.

“Morgan is one of the best coaches in Central Florida. They’re physical, they’re fast, they’re battle-tested with a strong strength of schedule.”

Evans, which has lost only to regional qualifiers, replaced Seminole as the region’s top-rated team based on updated FHSAA power rankings.

The Trojans topped Ocoee 80-71 to win 7A-3, the only area district that has four region qualifiers. Apopka and Lake Brantley also advanced.

Other Orlando area top region seeds are nationally ranked Oak Ridge (7A Region 2), Edgewater (6A-2), Lake Highland Prep (4A-2) and Windermere Prep (3A-2).

Those teams are ratings favorites to get to the state tournament in Lakeland and are guaranteed to be home for all three regional rounds if they advance.

Seminole’s slip means it is a No. 2 seed that must travel to the Jacksonville area to play No. 7 Creekside. FHSAA rules stipulate that district champions, such as Creekside, will host first-round regional games if they are playing an at-large team.

Olympia, another second seed, must travel to No. 7 Fort Pierce Central.

Orlando Christian Prep, second-ranked in 2A, is 18-0 all-time in first round region games.

Thursday’s games have 7 p.m. starts, according to FHSAA brackets.

Region semifinals are set for Feb. 20, followed by region finals Feb. 23, finals.

Admission is $9. Digital tickets are on sale at the gofan.co website.

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CLASS 7A REGION 1

No. 8 seed Lake Mary (15-12) at No. 1 Evans (17-9)

5 Ocoee (19-9) at 4 Lake Brantley (19-7)

2 Seminole (20-7) at 7 Creekside (18-9)

6 Apopka (15-12 ) at 3 Orlando University (21-5)

CLASS 7A REGION 2

No. 8 Osceola (14-11) at No. 1 Oak Ridge (23-3)

5 Wellington (22-5) at 4 Lake Worth (17-9)

2 Olympia (18-8) at 7 Fort Pierce Central (18-10)

6 Palm Beach Lakes (14-6) at 3 Windermere (19-8)

CLASS 6A REGION 2

No. 8 St. Cloud (19-6) at No. 1 Edgewater (19-7)

4 Lakeland (17-6) at 5 Bartow (19-9)

7 East River (16-10) at 2 Oviedo (23-4)

6 Lake Howell (15-10) at 3 South Fork (20-5)

CLASS 5A REGION 1

No. 8 Pine Forest (15-13) at No. 1 Mainland (19-6)

5 Choctawhatchee (16-10) at 4 Pensacola Washington (16-8)

7 Columbia (15-12) at 2 Rickards (21-6)

6 Deltona (16-8) at 3 Riverside (17-8)

CLASS 5A REGION 2

No. 8 Zephyrhills (16-11) at No. 1 Blake (22-5)

5 Jones (12-13) at 4 Wesley Chapel (22-5)

7 Lecanto (21-6) at 2 Leesburg (16-4)

6 Ocala Vanguard (15-11) at 3 Tampa Jesuit (20-7)

CLASS 4A REGION 2

No. 8 Astronaut (16-10) at No. 1 Lake Highland Prep (23-3)

5 Palatka (23-4) at 4 Villages (17-11)

7 Umatilla (19-6) at 2 Palm Bay (22-5)

6 Discovery (20-6) at 3 Eustis (21-5)

CLASS 3A REGION 1

No. 8 P.K. Yonge (13-12) at No. 1 Providence (21-5)

4 Florida High (17-10) at 5 Master’s Academy (17-9)

7 San Jose Prep (13-10) at 2 Episcopal (22-4)

6 Father Lopez (19-6) at 3 Marianna (25-2)

CLASS 3A REGION 2

No. 8 Foundation Academy (17-9) at No. 1 Windermere Prep (20-7)

5 Bell Creek (16-11) at 4 Cardinal Newman (22-5)

7 King’s Academy (21-7) at 2 Santa Fe Catholic (23-5)

5 First Academy (15-12) at 3 Holy Trinity (19-6)

CLASS 2A REGION 2

No. 8 CFCA (6-18) at No. 1 Victory Christian (23-4)

5 Legacy Charter (14-10) at 4 Mount Dora Christian (15-12)

7 Halifax (20-5) at 2 Orlando Christian Prep (20-4)

6 Faith Christian (16-11) at 3 North Tampa Christian (23-3)

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Varsity Content Editor Buddy Collings can be reached at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.