Playoffs – St. Thomas Aquinas v Coral Springs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Thursday night, Coral Springs High School took on St. Thomas Aquinas in a playoff matchup with Regional Championship implications and a trip to Lakeland on the line. The St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders came away with the victory, 62-54 despite an early 13-0 deficit, and are on their way to chase their first State Championship since 2001. Here are some players that helped their respective teams make this a hard fought battle that you should be keeping your eyes on. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1301736"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67ba1e3541f79"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Wimbley, the FSU commit did a little bit of everything for the Raiders on Thursday. The 6'7" wing was hot from beyond the arc in the first half of the game, knocking in 4 three-pointers. Wimbley was able to rally his teammates and make sure everyone contributed in some way to over come the early deficit the Raiders had and scrap out a come from behind win for their 28th win on the season and a Class 6A Regional Championship. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2294524"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67ba1e3541fed"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Westbrook, the sophomore guard chipped in 11 points, with 9 of them coming after halftime propelling the Raiders to the win. His ability to dictate his own pace on the floor and keep a steady, calm, and collected manner even with his team down was impressive. Westbrook, like his named counterpart in the NBA has a strong presence on his drives to the basket and finishes with either hand. His quick change of pace dribble allowed him to find daylight and driving lanes most of the night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1660055"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67ba1e3542037"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">DJ Sandi, the coach's son, also scored 12 point in the game. Another guard, who in this case was an extension of his father and coach on the floor, running plays effectively, finding open teammates, and impacting the game in all the little ways that helped his team come out with a victory. He has an ability to just let the game come to him, has a sneaky first separation step, and seeks out contact on his drives showing a confidence in his game that permeated the entire team and had everyone in the gym believing in a Raiders win on their homecourt. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Jahmai Henry","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2028","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'3u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77244","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Coral Springs High School","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67ba1e35420db"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Class of '28 standout Jahmai Henry scored 14 to lead Coral Springs. He's a long distance marksman who gets great balance beneath him on his shot and springs up quickly for a high release point. Henry did all he could this game to help his team overtake the Raiders, but they were just unable to capitalize on runs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Joshua Pierre","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'2u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77244","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Coral Springs High School","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67ba1e3542166"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Pierre was another major contributor this game, chipping in 11 and trying to contain the Raiders guards in the backcourt. Another impressively strong driver from the wings who sought out contact from the Raiders defenders in the post. Overall the Colts just did not have enough to overcome the final deficit but still had a very successful season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->