How sweep it is: Central advances to district semifinals, earns third win over Centennial
PORT ST. LUCIE — Beating an opponent three times in a given season is an extremely difficult task.
But in one of the more intense rivalries on the Treasure Coast, that feat has occurred three years in a row.
After being on the losing end of the sweep the previous two seasons, Fort Pierce Central finally got the upper hand over a team that has had its number. The Cobras took control early and never looked back in a 67-54 victory over Centennial during a District 7-7A boys basketball quarterfinal on Tuesday from St. Lucie West Centennial High School.
Central defeated the Eagles twice during the regular season in completely different fashions, first earning a 67-64 triumph on Dec. 6 at home before blasting its rival on Jan. 23 on the road. The team’s third victory was somewhere in between a nail-biter and a blowout from a competitive standpoint, but it was easily the most important.
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The Eagles, seeded fourth in this year’s bracket, have raised the district trophy each of the previous two years by beating the Cobras in the championship game. However, No. 5 Central not only exacted revenge but now moves on to play Wednesday at top-seeded Palm Beach Lakes.
“We’ve been suffering for many years. … A lot of people forget, but we remember,” Cobras head coach Christopher Maxon said. “They’ve put us through a lot of frustration through the years and we really made it one of our goals that anytime we see Centennial, we’re going to try and sweep them. … We have great respect for them and their program, but when you win on the road twice in the last two weeks, it’s a great testament to our guys.”
The visitors recovered from a slow start by using a 20-2 run to surge ahead. Leading 17-15 at the end of the first quarter, Central (16-10) added to its cushion with an 8-0 spurt through the first 72 seconds of the second.
Junior guard Joseph Gayle started the push with a bucket before back-to-back 3-pointers by junior guard Tavien Neille and senior forward Derrick King opened up a 25-15 lead and resulted in an Eagles timeout.
The hosts did not close the gap until late in the third quarter.
Following a steal and breakaway slam from senior forward Louis Llinas and a putback from junior guard Avery Johnson, they closed to within 46-39 at the end of the third quarter. The Eagles (18-8) appeared set to trim its deficit to four before Gayle made the biggest play of the game with a chase-down block.
Christian Maxon immediately cashed in with a second-chance 3-pointer, resulting in a five-point swing. After an Eagles turnover, Neille leaked out for a layup as part of a 9-2 run. From there, Centennial never closed to within single digits.
“That’s a really good team,” Eagles head coach Chris Carannante said of the Cobras. “We beat them in the district championship the last two years and they brought four guys back from that team. They were experienced while we graduated 10 seniors from last year, so we had a whole new group out here. We knew they were going to be tough all year, and they were. We were able to play with them, but we didn’t get the job done.”
Three players scored in double figures for Centennial, with sophomore guard Feliz Buroz leading the way with 13 points. Junior guard Antawn Smith Jr. and senior guard Jayson Smith had 10 points apiece.
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Gayle finished with a game-high 18 points. His loudest points came when he threw down a two-handed slam as the final buzzer sounded.
“It feels great, man,” Gayle said. “We lost to Centennial three times in a row last year and we had to get them back. It felt great beating them the first two times, especially the second time being a 30-piece. And today just feels amazing because now we’re on the road to a district championship. It’s going to get even better and better.”
Christian Maxon added 16 points and five assists while King contributed 12 points and seven rebounds.
Here are three takeaways from Central’s victory.
Gayle punches it off the glass
It should have been two easy points.
Following a spectacular save on the sideline, the Eagles suddenly had a 2-on-1 fast break and a chance to tighten the game in the fourth quarter. Gayle erased all of that.
The 6-foot-5 junior darted into the play and rejected the sure layup off the backboard and into a teammate’s hands. The game wasn’t over after that play, but the LeBron-style block pushed it toward that direction.
“One of our players had a turnover, and I was like, ‘I’m not going to not get back and let them have an easy layup,” Gayle said. “I’m speeding down the court and had to glass it, and it helped change the whole momentum of the game.”
Gayle started on fire, offensively. He scored 10 quick points, including a pull-up 3-pointer to close out the first quarter. From there, the guard slowed down a bit, connecting on 8 of 19 shots overall. But without his early scoring and defensive impact, Central doesn’t win the game.
“He has a motor,” Christopher Maxon said of Gayle. “When he gets a dunk or a big three, he’s the kind of guy that can change the whole outcome of the game. And he did it with that block, that was a beautiful block. … He’s the kind of guy that you got to give him the freedom to play.”
Eagles suffer scoring drought
Buroz and the Eagles were just as hot in the opening minutes.
The sophomore also had 10 first-quarter points while the team knocked down three of its first four shots from behind the arc to jump out to a 13-5 lead. But the home team’s offense spurted, as the open looks from deep stopped falling. Facing the Cobras’ man-to-man defense, players struggled to get clean shots off in the paint against Central’s length.
Centennial came up empty on 11 of the next 13 possessions.
“I have no issues with our effort whatsoever. Some shots didn’t fall, some credit to their defense,” Carannante said. “In the second quarter, we were horrible offensively. We did miss some easy ones, but a lot of times we ran our offense way too high and were bothered by their pressure. We just didn’t get some of the looks we wanted.”
Cobras 'peaking' and ready to strike; Eagles look toward the future
Aside from a 23-point defeat to Wellington in its regular-season finale, the Cobras are hitting their stride, according to their head coach. Before that loss, the team won its previous three games.
And with its latest win, Central is playing with confidence.
“We’re peaking at the right time, which is nice,” Christopher Maxon said. “You want to be playing at the highest level going into February and I think we’re playing our best basketball right now, especially on the defensive end. Somebody has to do the dirty work and that’s where we’re able to get guys to buy in.”
Meanwhile, ranked 10th in Region 2-7A, the Eagles will not make their third straight appearance in the state postseason. But there’s plenty of hope for the future as the program will have a number of contributors back in the fold next season.
“We’re really proud of what we were able to accomplish this year, even with the end result,” Carannante said. “We have nine sophomores and juniors in the rotation coming back. And they have to work hard, they aren’t good enough right now. They did some good things and we love the group we have, but they are going to have to work hard to get back to the top of the district.”
Other area scores
Boys Basketball
District 7-7A quarterfinals
No. 3 Treasure Coast 54, No. 6 Palm Beach County 42: A major third-quarter push propelled the Titans to a home victory over the Gators and into the district semifinals.
Clinging to a slim 27-26 advantage at halftime, the host pulled away by outscoring Palm Beach Gardens 17-7 over the next eight minutes.
Stats were unavailable.
Treasure Coast plays at 7 p.m. Tuesday at No. 2 Jupiter.
No. 2 Jupiter 56, No. 7 Vero Beach 33: The Indians’ campaign came to a close after they were dispatched by the Warriors. Stats were unavailable.
With back-to-back losses, Vero Beach closes the season with a 13-12 record.
District 8-6A quarterfinals
No. 3 Martin County 43, No. 6 Sebastian River 22: A close game at halftime turned into a rout as the Tigers put away the Sharks at Don Wallen Arena.
Martin County managed just a 19-15 cushion at halftime. That lead extended to 31-22 after three quarters before the home team blanked the visitors 12-0 in the fourth.
Stats were unavailable.
The Tigers (9-16) have won back-to-back games on the heels of an eight-game slump. They’ll play on Thursday at No. 2 Viera. Sebastian River had its three-game winning streak snapped.
District 14-5A quarterfinals
No. 4 American Heritage 60, No. 5 Jensen Beach 46: The Falcons were knocked out of the postseason following a loss to the Patriots in Plantation.
Jensen Beach (12-13) only trailed 24-21 at the half, but lost the third quarter by an 18-12 margin and the fourth, 18-12. Stats were unavailable.
The Falcons alternated wins and losses over their final seven games.
District 13-5A quarterfinals
No. 4 Okeechobee 57, No. 5 Fort Pierce Westwood 40: The Brahmans raced out of the gates and never looked back in a home win over the Panthers. The host led 18-6 after eight minutes of action and bumped the lead to 33-13 at halftime.
Stats were unavailable.
Earning its third win in a row, Okeechobee (16-10) earned a Wednesday date with top-seeded Rockledge. Westwood ends its season with an 8-16 record.
No. 1 Rockledge 89, No. 8 Lincoln Park Academy 22: The Greyhounds were dismantled on the road against the top-seeded Raiders. Stats were unavailable.
LPA ends the season with a 7-14 mark.
District 8-3A quarterfinals
No. 5 John Carroll Catholic 69, No. 4 Inlet Grove 46: Winning every quarter, the Rams moved on to the district semifinal with an upset road triumph against the Hurricanes.
The visitors were powered by an 18-8 first quarter.
Robert Brown scored 21 points to pace Inlet Grove. Stats were unavailable for John Carroll, who plays next on Thursday at No. 1 Cardinal Newman.
No. 3 Benjamin 87, No. 6 Somerset College Prep Academy 62: The Spartans couldn’t slow down the Buccaneers during a road loss from Palm Beach Gardens. Stats were unavailable.
Somerset Prep finishes with an 8-16 record.
District 14-2A quarterfinals
No. 5 Trinity Christian Academy 52, No. 4 Pine School 46: The Knights were on the wrong side of an upset loss against the Warriors in Stuart. Stats were unavailable.
Entering districts ranked ninth in Region 4-2A, Pine (17-9) likely saw its season come to a close.
Boys Soccer
Region 2-2A quarterfinals
No. 1 Lakeland Christian 3, No. 8 Pine School 1: The Knights’ reign as two-time defending champions officially ended Tuesday after they fell to the top-seeded Vikings. Stats were unavailable.
Advancing into the postseason following its third-straight district title, Pine finishes at 6-10-2.
No. 2 Orangewood Christian 4, No. 7 St. Edward’s 1: Four first-half goals were too much to overcome as the Pirates were defeated by the Rams in Maitland.
The visitors scored their only goal in the second half. Stats were unavailable.
St. Edward’s dropped to 7-9-1 with the loss.
Girls Soccer
Region 2-2A quarterfinals
No. 1 Lakeland Christian 2, No. 8 Pine School 0: A valiant effort was not enough for the Knights who were blanked on the road against the top-seeded Vikings. Stats were unavailable.
Pine (7-6-1) caps its campaign with losses in three of its last four matches.
Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at (772) 985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Area Roundup: Fort Pierce Central knocks off Centennial in district quarters
