Observations: Doral Academy @ Coral Gables

<p>Using a 25-14 third quarter, the <strong>Coral Gables Cavaliers </strong>propelled past the <strong>Doral Academy Firebirds</strong> 72-65 for the teams 14th win of the season. The Cavaliers, winners of eight of their last nine games, picked up the tempo in the second half after trailing by three points at the break. Both teams traded small leads in the first half before the uptick in intensity over the final two quarters. The Firebirds have lost two straight games after falling to <strong>Calvary</strong> <strong>Christian Academy</strong> at the Martin Luther King Classic.</p> <p><strong>Delgado does it all</strong></p> <p>With both teams playing pretty even early, I thought the player of the first half was 2022 guard <strong>Romulo</strong> <strong>Delgado</strong>. The six-foot-three sophomore scored 13 of his 15 points in the first two quarters while finishing with five rebounds and adding four steals. Delgado hit a pair of 3-pointers in the half and was aggressive around the glass going up against the length of the Doral front court. Defensively, Delgado was scrappy with his hands creating turnovers for the Coral Gables leading to opportunities on the other end of the floor. Off the court, Delgado is a strong student with a 4.0 GPA.</p> <p><strong>Romer running the show</strong></p> <p>During the pivotal third quarter when the Cavaliers motor began to roll, I thought the catalyst of it all was from 2021 point guard <strong>Desmond Romer</strong>. Romer finished with 17 points and had an impressive offensive sequence with  consecutive strong takes to the rim followed by a wing 3-pointer to ignite the Cavalier offense. "Dez" is listed at six-foot-two but seemed to play bigger when he took control driving to the point. Considering it was the turning point in the game, I give Romer the MVP performance of the night.</p> <p><strong>Hey Mr. Carter</strong></p> <p>When you are one of the best players in South Florida, you are going to get a lot of attention. The Cavaliers did their best to contain 2020 <strong>Devin Carter</strong>, but the senior still finished with 25 points after a slow start. Carter, who is currently mulling over where he will play collegiality, picked up his first field goal with 5:55 to go in the second quarter. Coral Gables brought double teams to the six-foot-four senior as he crossed the half court which caused him to facilitate to his other teammates. In addition, Coral Gables forced him into some long 3-point attempts. Despite the emphasis on stopping him, Carter brought the house down with a thunderous baseline slam in the third quarter. My take is...you can't really stop Carter...only contain him.</p> <p><strong>Big time Bryant</strong></p> <p>Coral Gables scored 41 of their 72 points in the second half and many of those came at the hands of 2022 six-foot-six forward <strong>Kuran Bryant</strong>. Bryant finished with a team-high 21 points and nine rebounds for the Cavaliers. Bryant has good size at the position while showing a strong ability to attack the rim like a seasoned point guard. Bryant is a match-up problem for defenses as he can play multiple positions.</p> <p><strong>Johnson &amp; Johnson</strong></p> <p>With Carter drawing a lot of the Cavaliers attention, Doral Academy got two quality performances from 2021 forward <strong>Kameron Johnson</strong> and 2023 forward <strong>Justin Johnson</strong>. The six-foot-six junior collected eight points while the six-foot-seven freshman finished with 15 points and six rebounds. The younger Johnson found openings for short buckets in the center of the lane and knocked down a pair of 3-pointers. Defensively, both players are long and can disrupt a teams offensive rhythm. The pair are huge x-factors to the Firebirds success with Carter almost a shoo-in to score twenty points on any given night. </p> <p><strong>Daniels on defense</strong></p> <p>As the lone senior on Coral Gables, <strong>Walter Daniels III</strong> is a tough veteran known for setting the tone defensively for his team. Against the Firebirds, the 2020 six-foot-four guard lived up to the billing playing against one of the states strongest offensive players in Carter. Daniels III is a well-rounded player and finished with 12 points while showing off a crisp jumper in the first half.</p> <p><strong>Coach Tico Govea observations:</strong></p> <p><strong>On the third quarter</strong>:</p> <p>"I think I got into them at halftime and they responded well," said Govea. "It came through our point guard (Romer) who has the ball in his hands a lot. He was just creating mismatches and had a really good game. Defensively we kind of dialed in and got some big rebounds. Devin Carter is a helluva player man and it was a team effort to stop him. Everybody was in his shorts and he didn't get anything easy."</p> <p><strong>On guarding Carter</strong>:</p> <p>"Fortunately we have kid in Walter Daniels who picks it up (defensively) ,"said Govea. "He is our only senior on a team with mostly sophomores and juniors. Every game we choose a guy and he goes and gets them. He is known for it and he is strong player and a tough kid of few words. He is a senior so he knows this is his last chance and he knows he has a good team behind him. When he comes in here at half and we are not doing well, he went and picked us up on defense. Seeing him motivated to stop somebody just picks up the intensity for the rest of the guys."</p> <p><strong><em>For any South Florida hoops news or information...please contact Michael Costeines on instagram @Steins_23 or follow him on twitter @Mungertown_Mike23.</em> </strong></p>