27-02-2025
Riviera Prep basketball moves closer to historic place among Miami-Dade's all-time best
Miami Riviera Prep has had its share of tightly-contested games at the state final four in recent years.
Luckily for the Bulldogs, there aren't too many situations their players have not faced during their recent run of state championships.
On Thursday afternoon, Riviera Prep moved a little closer to a historic place among Miami-Dade County's all-time best boys' basketball teams when it gutted out a 58-50 victory over Naples First Baptist in a Class 2A state semifinal at the RP Funding Center.
The Bulldogs (20-10), who are the top seed in their bracket, will take on Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Class 2A final.
'We've been through every situation all year, playing through a national schedule. We know what we need to do to get a win,' said forward Jeremy Jenkins, who totaled 10 points, six rebounds and four steals. 'This isn't my first rodeo and we've lost games like this. My goal was to lead our team and we just have to play our game and win a championship on Saturday.'
Riviera Prep is chasing its third consecutive state title in what will be its fourth consecutive appearance in the state final.
The Bulldogs will try to join Miami High, Miami Norland, Miami Columbus and Miami Northwest Christian as the only Miami-Dade County schools to win three or more consecutive state boys' basketball championships.
'We've been counted out numerous times especially once the injuries started accumulating,' Riviera Prep coach Anthony Shahbaz said. 'The kids have stuck with it and a lot of guys have stepped up and given us some great moments. We kept the game closer than we'd like, but if we can stay out of foul trouble, I think we can do something historic.
'They always believe they have a chance in a game. We'll clean up a few things and get some rest and get ready for the next one. If you can't get motivated for winning a three-peat, you shouldn't be playing basketball.'
Riviera Prep, which prevailed in one-point thrillers each of the past two seasons in the state semifinal round, likely didn't figure to be in a tough game after the first few minutes on Thursday.
The Bulldogs stormed ahead of the Lions (28-3), scoring the game's first 10 points and opening the contest on a 14-1 run.
First Baptist evened things out for most of the rest of the contest, not allowing the Bulldogs to break the game open.
Multiple Riviera Prep players ended up in foul trouble as the Lions attacked the rim consistently with good ball movement, setting up some outside shots.
Jenkins fouled out as did forward Peter Okechukwu further depleting a frontcourt already without two injured starters in 7-foot senior Gustavo Guimaraes Alves and junior 6-10 forward Olisaemeka Williams Itumo.
But the Lions were unable to draw any closer than five points with 11.3 seconds remaining. Mason Fuentes drew a foul in the backcourt with 10.9 seconds left and proceeded to hit one of two free throws. First Baptist's Kieren Fitzgerald's three-pointer at the other end drew nothing but air and Myles Fuentes collected the rebound, drew a foul and hit both free throws with a second left.
'At halftime we weren't where we wanted to be, but we were up 11 so we just needed to keep pushing,' said Riviera Prep guard Mason Fuentes, who scored a team-high 17 points and had four assists. 'A few guys got into foul trouble, but we just needed to stay with it.'
Riviera Prep continued to be clutch when it needed to be, especially at the free throw line where it made 14 of 18 attempts (77.9 percent).
'All our hard work, the 5 a.m. workouts and everything else, it's finally paying off,' said guard Myles Fuentes, who had 12 points. 'We just have to establish and play hard like we did in the beginning and not let it get close like we did after. We just started working on our free throws, late night practices, private workouts, always putting up 100 free throws and made our shots as consistent as possible.'
