Class 9A-Region 3: It will be Cypress Bay vs. Wellington in final

<p>Western traveled to face Cypress Bay on Tuesday night in an FHSAA Class 9A-Region 3 boys basketball semifinal.</p> <p>Cypress Bay jumped on its rival by double-digits early and never let up on the way to a 64-50 victory. The Lightning are one victory away from making the Boys State Basketball Tournament.</p> <p>Here are 5 Takeaways from Weston:</p> <h2>Cypress Bay masterpiece</h2> <p>The Lightning came out red hot out of the gate, hitting four 3-pointers for a 24-10 lead on rival Western 5 minutes and 10 seconds into the game. 2021 <strong>Tristan Goldstein</strong> had perhaps the best game of his young career with three huge first-quarter 3-pointers. The Lightning built their lead up from quarter to quarter. Cypress Bay led by 7 after one, by 11 at the half, by 19 going to the fourth and 62-38 late in the fourth.</p> <p>Coach <strong>Jason Looky</strong> had high praise for his Cypress Bay squad. "I personally think this is one of the best games that a Cypress Bay team has ever played," Looky said afterward.</p> <h2>Goldstein finishes with 19</h2> <p>The 6-foot-5 Goldstein finished 6 of 7 from the field and 4 of 5 from the free-throw line for a game-high 19 points. He also had 7 rebounds.</p> <p>"I was surprised [they were all going down] because you know lately, beginning of the season my percentage was low and I was shooting at one of my all-time lows," said Goldstein, who scored 16 of 19 in the first half. "But since the playoff season, playoff time, you've got to get that type of energy and I made my shots."</p> <h2>Cypress Bay goes 3-1 vs. Western</h2> <p>2019 guard <strong>Tyler Krivitzkin</strong> and 2020 guard <strong>Isaiah Quinteros</strong> added 18 and 16 points, respectively, as Cypress Bay won its third straight vs. rival Western to finish 3-1 vs. the Wildcats this season. Krivitzkin was 5 for 10 from the floor and Quinteros made 7 of 15 shots. Senior <strong>Amir Brikat</strong> had 9 points.</p> <p>"Rival games are tough and having to beat them three times in a row was a challenge," Looky said. "But I just told the boys inside: This is the farthest we've ever went. Sometimes you just find a way."</p> <h2>Too big of a hole</h2> <p>Western coach <strong>Kenneth Kelly</strong> summed it up well. "I think they just came out ready to play," Kelly said. "We <em>thought</em> we were ready to play." </p> <p>Cypress Bay bottled up Western's attack. Guards <strong>Lavar Miller</strong> (2019) and <strong>Gavin Ostrow</strong> (2021) shot a combined 4 for 14 from the field. They combined for one field goal in the second half.</p> <p>Western senior Division I prospect <strong>Damari Monsanto</strong> also could not get untracked. Cypress Bay allowed Monsanto just 5 field-goal attempts in the first half and then held him to an 0-for-6 start to the second half. Monsanto finished 5 for 17 from the field and had 17 total points to go along with 12 rebounds.</p> <p>Monsanto had Tweeted that he would be taking an official visit to East Tennessee State March 1-3 but it didn't sound like that was a for sure thing after the game. Western's season ends 19-10.</p> <h2>What's next</h2> <p>Cypress Bay (19-6) will now play perennial Palm Beach County powerhouse Wellington on Friday for the right to advance to the Boys State Basketball Tournament in Lakeland. Wellington, which lost in the 9A state title game last March, took down Jupiter, 60-51, on Tuesday to advance.</p> <p><em>If you have high school basketball news, you can reach Pat Lammer via text at 954-661-9671.</em></p>