Oak Ridge-Columbus go overtime in FHSAA 7A boys basketball championship classic

LAKELAND — Oak Ridge rallied from 16 points down to force overtime before suffering a heartbreaking 72-67 loss against powerhouse Miami Columbus in a Saturday night game that will long be remembered as one of the all-time classics in FHSAA boys basketball championship history.

It was the third consecutive championship for Columbus (27-4).

Cameron Boozer, the MaxPreps and Gatorade national player of the year as a Columbus sophomore last season, forced the overtime with a power move down the lane and a two-handed dunk that tied the score as regulation time ran out. That came after Oak Ridge junior Jalen Reece gave the Pioneers (27-4) only their second lead of the night. He penetrated into the lane, backed his defender up, and scored on a soft step-back jumper for a 56-55 lead with 1:24 to go. Jordan Tillery then made one of two free throws to make it 57-55 with 22.7 seconds remaining.

Oak Ridge saw a three-point shot that could have won the game rattle out and then fell behind when Columbus guard Randy Smith made a three on the first possession in overtime for a 60-57 lead that held up at the RP Funding Center.

The Pioneers were forced to foul and the Explorers (27-4) made 10 free throws in a row and 12 of 14 in the OT.

UCF signee Cameron Simpson kept Oak Ridge’s hopes alive with a three-point shot off the dribble and the Pioneers had a chance as a Tyler Johnson put-back attempt rolled around the rim and out.

“This hurts. We put a lot of work, a lot of sweat, a lot of blood into this. We just came a couple of plays short,” said Simpson, who scored 19 points off the bench.

Jamier Jones scored 16 points in the loss. Jordan Tillery also had 16 along with a game-high 13 rebounds and assists. Johnson had 14 and 7 rebounds.

Boozer, a 6-10 junior, made the difference in the game. He had 24 points, 11 rebounds, assists and 3 blocked shots.

“They’re a great team,” Boozer said of Oak Ridge. “We’ll probably see them next year again. It was a helluva game.”

Columbus is ranked No. 2 nationally behind Montverde in multiple polls and is No. 1 in the MaxPreps Top 25 national rankings, which include only teams eligible for traditional state championships. Oak Ridge, which was a champion in 2018, is No. 10 on that list.

Cayden Boozer, Cameron’s twin brother, had 16 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists for Columbus. The Boozer boys, sons of former NBA player Carlos Boozer, were standouts as freshmen on the Columbus team that won the 2022 championship game to spoil Dr. Phillips’ bid to win back-to-back titles.

Columbus becomes the third school to three-peat in the state’s largest classification. Miami High won three in a row twice, first in the 1954-56 seasons and again in 1989-91.

Jones, a 6-6 junior, who scored 29 points in Oak Ridge’s semifinal win against Winter Haven, opened Saturday’s game with a three-point basket but then went scoreless for 9:23 — until he turned the game around with three consecutive threes when the Pioneers desperately needed points. That came after the Explorers built their lead to 39-23 with 4:41 to go in the third quarter.

Jones’ treys ignited a 13-0 run that helped his team get to within 44-41. The spree included Johnson rising above the rim for a tip-in basket and a long three-pointer by Simpson.

Jones made another three to close the gap to 47-46 and Simpson drained another to tie the score at 52-52. It was a dogfight from that point on.

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“It was a good game,” was all Oak Ridge Steve Reece would say as postgame medals were being passed out.

Unlike the week’s previous games there were no post-game interview sessions due to the time constraints.

Oak Ridge had six players surpass 1,000 points this season. That list included juniors Jones and Reece, and seniors Tillery, Simpson and Calvin Liptrot Jr.

Columbus coach Andrew Moran has said his team hopes to be selected to play in the Chipotle Nationals tournament (formerly Geico Nationals) in the Indianapolis area, April 4-6. National No. 1 Montverde Academy (30-0) will be the top seed for that tournament.

Coach Reece said earlier in the week that his team was lined up to play in The Throne tournament, another national postseason event, March 27-30, in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Defenses were focused and both teams started slowly with Oak Ridge going scoreless for seven consecutive possessions but trailing only 7-6 with 2:21 remaining in the first quarter. Columbus created separation with Cameron Boozer knocking down a three-point shot and Malik Abdullahi dunking an alley-oop pass from Jase Richardson for a 12-6 lead.

Simpson came off the bench and opened the second quarter by making a three on his first touch to reduce the margin to 14-11. But Cameron Boozer scored six straight points and Cayden Boozer’s three point shot stretched the lead to 25-15. It was 32-21 at halftime after a loose ball led to a three-pointer by Columbus guard Randy Smith. The biggest lead for the Explorers was 39-23 with 4:29 remaining in the third quarter.

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