By Dave Brousseau
FORT LAUDERDALE – Miramar junior guard Michael Daniel had the opportunity to help his team reverse the outcome of a possible defeat as Cardinal Gibbons grabbed a one-point lead with 15.4 seconds left in regulation.
As time evaporated in the boys BCAA Big 8 quarterfinal at Fort Lauderdale High, the Patriots victory was at the mercy of Daniel’s deciding shot.
His game-deciding lay-up with 2.1 seconds left in regulation proved to be the game winner in the 62-61 victory.
“I’m not going to lie, but I knew my shot was going to go in,” said Daniel. “I’ve been here before as I was built for clutch moments. We practice for this.”
The Patriots (16-7), a two-time winner at the Big 8 Tournament, advances to the semifinals against the winner of the Pembroke Pines Charter-Stranahan game on Friday at 5:30.
“Getting back to this moment is big,” said Miramar coach Tremaine Stevens. “I told the kids when I came back, we’d be playing big time basketball. Nothing bigger than playing in the Big 8.”
The Patriots’ balanced scoring was led by Daniel, Jayson Negin and Alan Charles who each had 14 points. Martell Smith added 12 points.
Gibbons (19-5) was led by Justus Dylan-Herbert with 19 points and A.J. Ambrose with 16 points.
Junior guard Clarence Westbrook Jr. had a game-high 30 points to lead St. Thomas Aquinas to a comfortable 70-53 victory over Boyd Anderson.
“We need to stay aggressive even through our mistakes,” said Westbrook. “We need to believe in ourselves. We’ve been here before. We’ve won this tournament before and we’re here to prove we can do it again.”
It was the Raiders (19-4) seventh consecutive victory over the Cobras (14-8) dating back to December of 2021.
Junior guard Kellson Sandi added 14 of his 18 points in the second half to help secure a 31-22 first half lead.
Senior forward Niteno Pierre led the Cobras with 12 points. Hatem Chehade and Romondy Sainvri each added 10 points.
Dave Brousseau is a veteran journalist who worked at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and is a longtime BCAA Correspondent. Need to reach out to him? Contact him at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.