Lake Highland Prep coach Fratrik gets 200th boys basketball victory

Lake Highland Prep’s Ben Fratrik posted his 200th victory as a high school boys basketball coach in the Breast Cancer Awareness Classic, and the way it was won made it a very special Saturday.

The Highlanders were underdogs playing without their top player, Julian Clark, and found themselves trailing 9-1 in the early going and 32-16 just before halftime against state-ranked Windermere High in an afternoon game in the 11th annual BCAC at Oak Ridge High School.

It looked like a blowout was in store.

But Fratrik’s scrappy team never quit and rallied for a 58-54 victory — giving the Highlanders a 3-0 start to the season.

Lake Highland turned the game around with a 16-2 run that began with a basket and a 3-point shot by sophomore sharpshooter Robert Oskarrson in the final minute before the break.

“We changed our defenses at halftime and we came out and played with a little bit more composure,” Fratrik said. “This early in the season to play a team as good as that one in this environment is a really good thing for us.”

Lake Highland had 16 first-half turnovers but only three in the second half.

Fratrik has 119 wins in seven years at Lake Highland after posting 81 in seven seasons at Lake Mary.

Oskarrson, a transfer from Lake Nona, got major minutes with Clark sidelined and scored a varsity career high 16 points. He made four 3s — including a bank shot he heaved on the run to beat the buzzer ending the second quarter.

“I took him out because he didn’t take a shot in the first half,” Fratrik said with a laugh. “We want him to shoot it.”

Kellan Lewis, a senior guard who joined the JV team as a seventh-grader, also scored 16 points and sophomore guard RJ Ingram added 12 in the win.

“Things just work better when Kellan is in the game for us,” Fratrik said. “He knows every play forward and backward.”

Ingram’s 3-pointer with 6:26 remaining gave LHP its first lead at 44-41. Shiva Atwal added another trey to make it 47-41 and Lake Highland made its free throws down the stretch.

Clark was hurt in a preseason game and sat out while completing concussion protocols. He’s cleared to play when the Highlanders host International Community (1-3) on Wednesday night.

Ta’Veon Jones and Nate Earl led Windermere (3-1) with 15 points each.

Oak Ridge tumbles

Host Oak Ridge, the highest-ranked area state-title contender coming into the season, let a 7-point lead slip away in the final 1:12 and lost 80-78 to Fort Lauderdale Westminster Christian on a bizarre last-second basket.

The Pioneers (1-2) have lost two in a row and were visibly shaken by Saturday night’s result.

The game was tied 78-78 after Oak Ridge junior Jamier Jones made two free throws with 20.5 seconds to go. The Lions (1-0) rushed the ball upcourt and sophomore Alex Constanza launched a long 3-point shot attempt after crossing midcourt. His shot was wide right and hit neither the rim or backboard, but teammate 6-foot-7 junior Dwayne Wimbley leaped to catch the ball and drop it into the rim for the win.

Constanza, a 6-9 sophomore prospect, scored 19 points for Westminster, ranked No. 1 in 3A by SourceHoops.com.

Oak Ridge senior Tyler Johnson had 22 points and 7 rebounds. Pioneers junior point guard Jalen Reece scored 17 — all in the first half. Jones scored 16.

Westminster, No. 1 in 2A, had 4-point leads twice in the first half before Oak Ridge got its home crowd buzzing with a run that started with a 3-point shot by Jordan Tillery and two thunderous dunks by Jones. The Pioneers led 60-51 late in the third quarter and 69-59 midway through the fourth quarter before the Lions rallied with three crucial 3-point shots.

Orlando Christian Prep (3-0), No. 2 in 2A, pulled away after a tight first half and dealt much-improved Oviedo (4-1) its first loss, 64-49.

Florida Gators signee Isaiah Brown scored 24 points for the Warriors. Darius Washington III added 11 in the win.

Oviedo senior point guard Hunter Haverkamp made five 3-point shots and totaled 24 points.

OCP broke the game open with a 24-4 run that began with a dunk by Brown and a 3-pointer by Washington. Oviedo trailed 43-26 but clawed back to within 48-41 before the Warriors finished strong.

OCP plays Harmony (3-0) at home on Tuesday.

Olympia and Winter Haven went back-and-forth in a collision of two of the best in 7A. The No. 3 Blue Devils (3-1) prevailed 74-69 with burly Stetson signee Jamie Phillips Jr. taking charge late in the game.

No. 4 Olympia (3-1) led 64-61 after a 3 made by senior guard Kameron Wright. Phillips, listed at 6-5 and 230 pounds, scored six of his team’s final eight points. He and Wright each finished with 24 points.

Isaac Celiscar, a 6-6 senior heading to Yale, scored 21 for Winter Haven.

Lucca Reinehr, a 6-8 senior, scored 14 for Olympia.

Jones (2-4), coming off a dramatic 47-46 Friday win at Ocoee, made it two in a row with a 57-52 victory against St. Petersburg Lakewood in Saturday’s opening game.

In other early games, 6A No. 2 St. Thomas Aquinas (4-0) of Fort Lauderdale defeated The Rock, 64-41. Williston (5-0), top-ranked in the small-town Rural Division, won 69-62 against Tampa Catholic. Tampa Blake, 5A No. 2, won 58-55 vs. Villages Charter.

Edgewater wins Tip-Off Classic

Junior forward Myles Mayfield had a breakout performance with 30 points to lead undefeated Edgewater to a 53-44 win against Dr. Phillips in Saturday night’s championship game of the Rotary Tip-Off Classic at Winter Park High.

The victory marked the ninth time Edgewater has won the Tip-Off, which is the most in the tournament’s 47-year history.

“Our guys three days in a row came together,“ Eagles coach Jon Mason said. “I felt like our depth helped us win this game. We were able to play multiple guys minutes at a time. It was the ultimate team win. This was the best team win we’ve had all season.”

Mayfield was named the Stewart Colling MVP for his dominant performance in the championship game.

“Myles was a maniac inside,“ Mason said. “Everywhere on the defensive end [and] on the offensive glass. Even when he wasn’t scoring, he was tipping balls, keeping it alive, defending the rim, just a maniac in there. MVP [was] well deserved.”

Edgewater (5-0) beat Kissimmee Osceola 60-59 on Thursday and Winter Park 61-54 in overtime on Friday to reach the final.

It was close again Saturday, Edgewater leading by just a point at the half. Then Mayfield went off, scoring 15 of the Eagles’ 17 points in the third quarter. Edgewater led by as much as 12 points in the fourth quarter.

“It all just came natural,” Mayfield said of his performance. “I was getting to the basket, getting some rebounds and some putbacks and being aggressive, being assertive from the jump from the third quarter.”

Mayfield holds four collegiate offers, including one from Stetson.

Senior forward KJ Jones led Dr. Phillips (3-1) with 14 points. He fouled out with 3:40 left to play. Panthers junior forward Cameron Perry had 12.

The Panthers had a pair of one-point victories in a tight tournament, beating Daytona Mainland 58-57 on Wednesday and Sanford Seminole 64-63 on Friday.

Seminole won the third-place game, 68-54, over Winter Park.

All tournament team:

KJ Jones, Dr. Phillips

Tristen Coates, Winter Park

Daquan Ross, Seminole

Donovon Williams, Edgewater

Myles Mayfield, Edgewater — MVP

Helio Quinan, Osceola — Davis Fishback Hustle Award