5 Takeaways: 2019 BCAA Big 8 semifinals

<p>Pompano Beach Blanche Ely and Fort Lauderdale Dillard claimed semifinal victories Friday night in the 22nd BCAA Big 8 Tournament at Fort Lauderdale High.</p> <p>Blanche Ely held off Miramar, 64-59, while in Game 2 Dillard shut down Deerfield Beach, 51-39.</p> <p>Ely and Dillard will meet for the championship for the fifth time on Saturday night. Here are 5 Takeaways from the semifinals.</p> <h2>Ely wins 10th straight</h2> <p>Blanche Ely, which last won the BCAA Big 8 in 2015, led 19-17 after one quarter and built the advantage to 40-29 at the half. The Tigers led 53-46 after three and continually held off Patriot rallies. The closest Miramar would get was, 62-59, with just over a minute to play.</p> <p>"They are a well-coached ballclub," Ely's <strong>Melvin Randall</strong> said of Miramar. "I was expecting a dogfight." Junior guard <strong>Tyrecke Francois</strong> led Ely offensively with 17 points, including four 3-pointers. Francois was 6 for 11 from the field. 6-5 senior <strong>Joshua Scott</strong> was also in double-digits with 12 points.</p> <h2>No Hazelton</h2> <p>Ely 2020 <strong>Malachi Hazelton</strong> did not play Friday for unspecified reasons. The 6-5 Hazelton was in street clothes at the end of the bench. When asked about Hazelton after the game, Randall said," He's fine." As for playing Saturday night in the championship game: "We'll see."</p> <p>6-6 sophomore <strong>Eric Guerrier</strong> stepped in for Hazelton and gave Ely a major early lift. Guerrier made all four of his shots in the game for 9 points.</p> <h2>Luis impressive 2021</h2> <p>Miramar, coming off a 9A state tournament appearance in 2017-18, is young and should be very good in coming seasons. Sophomore shooting guard <strong>Reggie Luis</strong> is an excellent 3-point shooter. The 6-4 Luis has a nice soft shot. He connected on three 3s among his 15 total points in the loss to Ely. Fellow sophomore guard <strong>Khamaury McMillan</strong> added 12 points.</p> <h2>Eight in a row for Dillard</h2> <p>It was not pretty, but Dillard used five players that scored between 8 and 11 points to prevail. Senior guard <strong>Chris Mattair</strong> led the way with 11 points. <strong>Deshawn Bartley</strong> (2019), <strong>Chandler Mack</strong> (2020) and <strong>Jalen Haynes</strong> (2020) all had 10 points, and senior <strong>Kere Williams</strong> added 8.</p> <p>It is Dillard's 8th consecutive victory since losing at Ely, 69-58. </p> <p>"I don't know if we really deserve to play Ely from the way we played tonight," Dillard coach <strong>Darryl Burrows</strong> said." That was really, really, really ugly. Those guys made it look like we don't coach basketball to them. If we don't improve our mentality, we'll see a lopsided game against Ely."</p> <h2>Dugazon picks up offer</h2> <p>Speedy Stranahan senior guard <strong>Brian Dugazon</strong> picked up a scholarship offer from UNC Asheville. Dugazon also has offers from Albany State and ASA, per coach <strong>Terrence Williams</strong>. He has interest from Iowa State and FIU.</p> <p>Dragons 2020 big man <strong>Inady Legiste</strong> also has an Albany State offer and interest from North Florida. 2020 guard <strong>Dave Herard</strong> picked up another football offer from South Alabama.</p> <p><em>If you have high school basketball news, you can reach Pat Lammer via e-mail at PatALammer@Gmail.com or via text at 954-661-9671.</em></p>