St. Thomas Aquinas boys' basketball clinches first trip to state in over two decades
The twenty-two year wait to play at the boys high school state basketball final four is finally over.
Led by senior forward Dwayne Wimbley's 24 points, St. Thomas Aquinas overcame an early 15-point deficit to defeat Coral Springs 62-54 in the Region 4-6A final at home on Thursday.
The Raiders (28-2) advance to the state tournament for the time since losing to Winter Haven in a semifinal game 50-49 in 2003. They haven't won a state championship since 2001.
Aquinas will play in a state semifinal against Punta Gorda Charlotte on Thursday, Mar. 6 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
'After the first quarter we told we have 24 minutes and there's was a lot of basketball left,' Aquinas coach Julius Sandi said. 'The guys stuck to the plan and listened. We've been in all types of games this season, and this was one of them. We never panicked. Wimbley was huge and it came at the right time to get us back in the game. This is amazing.'
Wimbley led the first half rally for Aquinas after they trailed by 15 points at one point 17-2. Springs had opened the game on a 13-0 run.
The Raiders defense got in order and the offense responded, as they outscored the Colts 23-9 in the second quarter as Wimbley scored 12 points, nine coming on a trio of 3-pointers.
Aquinas went into the half with a 30-28 lead following a 3-pointer by Nate Accius at the buzzer.
Wimbley, who scored 12 second quarter points, helped the Raiders fight back giving them their first lead at 27-26 on a three-point basket with 1:19 left in the second quarter.
'This is my last year, and I couldn't go out without a fight,' Wimbley said. 'I did everything I could to get my team back in the game. The school last own a state title in 2001 and its time to win another one.'
The Raiders' largest lead was eight points at 37-29 in the third quarter. The Colts (18-10) found a way to stay within striking distance and closed to within 55-52 on a pair of free throws by freshman Jahmai Henry with 1:23 to play.
They never got any closer.
The Colts opened with a 13-0 run and led midway through the second quarter 26-13. At the end of the half, Aquinas went into the break with a 30-28 lead on a Nate Accius 3-pointer at the buzzer.
'Make no doubt about it, St. Thomas is a team that is very good,' Coral Springs coach Devin Barta said. 'They have very little weaknesses. We played ahead this time instead of behind, but Aquinas is a hell of basketball team. We knew they would make a run, and we just couldn't hold on.'
Aquinas defeated Coral Springs three times this season, the previous two by a combined 40 points. The Colts have lost five straight games to the Raiders and eight overall dating back to 2006.
Henry led Coral Springs with 16 points, while Joshua Pierre added 15 points.
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