By Dave Brousseau

CORAL SPRINGS – St. Thomas Aquinas junior guard Clarence Westbrook Jr. had one of those nights on the court he soon won’t forget.

When his Raiders teammates needed him most, he responded like a true leader on the court does.

Clinging to a one-point halftime lead, the Raiders rallied behind Westbrook’s game-high 33 points to defeat Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy 79-58 during Saturday’s finale at the Kreul Showcase at the Coral Springs City Gymnasium.

His big night also included a special moment with 5:22 left in the second quarter when he became the second player in three days to record 1000 career points as an Aquinas boys’ basketball player.

“This feels good as I’ve worked hard for this,” said Westbrook on his achievement. “This is great and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season.

I told my guys not to hold their heads done because we had a whole half to play. We are all accountable, because we the next play mentality. That’s what we had and why we were successful tonight.

In addition to Westbrook, Kellson Sandi and Nate Accius scored 17 and 14 points respectively to help put Westminster away in the second half.

“This is a testament on how we play,” said Raiders coach Julius Sandi, regarding two players 1,000-point achievement in the same week. I’m ecstatic for Westbrook.”

Drake Sandi accomplished the same plateau in a victory over Cardinal Gibbons on Thursday

D.J. Gaines led the Lions (3-2) with a team-high 24 points, while DeSean Clayton added 16 points.

CARDINAL GIBBONS 67, PALM BEACH CENTRAL 49: Justus Dylan-Herbert scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Chiefs (3-1). A.J.  Ambrose added 15 points and Evan Wyche 13 points.

The Broncos (3-3) 13 points from Tariq Mcleod and 12 points from Ryan Waugh.

MIAMI NORTHWESTERN 48, WELLINGTON 44: Giovanny Desire, a 6’5 senior forward, led the Bulls (5-0) to victory with 12 points. Isaiah McKinney and Jayden Navarrete each pitched in with nine points.

Camden Wesley scored 12 and Canaan Gedeon 11 points to lead the Wolverines (4-2).

ST. ANDREW’S 64, PEMBROKE PINES CHARTER 52: Not only did the Scots outscore their opponent, statistically they won the 3-point shooting battle and free throw differential.

Lukas Buinevicius, a 6’6 senior forward, led the Scots (8-1) with 19 points, while Xander Gerard had 16 points Brendan Gerard added 14 points.

The Jaguars struggled from the foul-line making only 10 of their 25 attempts, while making four fewer 3-point attempts than St. Andrew’s.

Pines Charter (2-1) was led by senior forward Robert Guishard with 19 points. Zac Dawson had 10 points.   

CORAL SPRINGS 67, CENTENNIAL 57: Craig Bryant Jr. and Matt Croissy each had 21 points to lead the Colts (3-2).

Their points helped Springs build a 37-25 lead at the half. Jamir Davis added 10 points.

The Eagles (3-4) were led by Jalen Bello with 14 points and Jayden Prosper with 13 points.

DWYER 59, BOYD ANDERSON 58: Torre Washington and Jordan Quince combined for 38 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks to help rally the Panthers (4-2) to the victory.

The Cobras (5-4) were led by Hatem Chehade with 23 points. Branden Jean added 13 points and four rebounds.

FORT LAUDERDALE 63, MIAMI NORLAND 60: Senior guard Adler Olweean scored a team-high 24 points, including five 3-pointers, as the Flying L’s (4-3) held off the Vikings for the victory.

Antonio Bonami added 12 points and five assists.

Omari Meda, a 6’6 junior, led all scorers with 26 point and eight rebounds to pace the Norland (5-1) offense.

MONARCH 42, BLANCHE ELY 33: The biggest thing about the Knights victory wasn’t about any individual performance.

Led by Jair Jimenez’s 10 points, Monarch defeated the Tigers for the first time in school history in boys’ basketball. Ely defeated Monarch 11 times dating back to 2008, including that last time they met in a 105-30 loss on Jan. 9, 2015.

Ladarius Baldwin had 11 points in the loss.

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.

By Dave Brousseau

FORT LAUDERDALE – The basketball rivalry between the St. Thomas Aquinas and Cardinal Gibbons boys’ teams had an extra added attraction other than determining a winner on earlier this week.

Aquinas senior guard Drake Sandi and Gibbons senior guard A.J. Ambrose were both on the verge of a special milestone in becoming members of the 1,000-career points fraternity.

Both reached the goal with Sandi doing so with 5:34 left in the first half of the Raiders 79-68 victory at Cardinal Gibbons High, while Ambrose reached his moment to celebrate with 4:51 remaining in the third quarter.

The game was stopped at the time of each player’s accomplishment.

Sandi ended his night with 23 points. Ambrose finished with 26 points.

“This was something that’s never been done at St. Thomas before,” said Drake Sandi. “Doing that was special to me. It was a great feeling. If it weren’t for my teammates this wouldn’t have happened.”

“It was a surreal moment,” said St. Thomas Aquinas coach Julius Sandi and father to Drake. “He technically has worked to be successful player. I’m just happy for him ss he’s a hard-working kid.”

Sandi entered the second quarter one point shy of the magical accomplishment with the Raiders holding on to a 43-34 lead at the completion of the first half.

Aquinas (5-0) continued to build their lead to 15 points at the conclusion of the third quarter at 60-45.

Ambrose did his best to put a dent into the Raiders lead with eight points in the final quarter.

“This feels great as I’ve been working so hard for this,” said Ambrose, who played his first two varsity season at Aquinas. “I’ve been working hard and grinding every day to establish on of my big goals.”

“He’s a special kid, a special player,” said Gibbons’ coach Bill Mallon about star player. “He’ just winner. This is what you coach for stuff like this.”

The Raiders improved to 6-2 over the Chiefs over the past decade.

Junior guard Clarence Westbrook led Aquinas with 24 points, while Nate Accius added 18 points and Kellson Sandi finished with 11 points. Westbrook looks to be the next Aquinas player to reach the 1000-point plateau in the coming weeks.

Senior guard Justus Dylan-Herbert added 20 points for Gibbons (2-1).

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. 

By Dave Brousseau

FORT LAUDERDALE – The front court combination of St. Thomas Aquinas seniors Isabella Sangha, Sydney Guerrier and Emma Merhi have proved too much for many of the Raiders volleyball opponents this season.

Wednesday against West Boca in a Class 6A regional final was more of the same.

Sangha, a Notre Dame commit for volleyball and basketball, had a strong night with a team-leading 14 kills and three blocks in the Raiders 25-10, 25-13, 25-13 victory.

“This is an opportunity for them again and for the me the first time,” said Sangha. “I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else. Getting the lead early set the tone of the match. We came out strong and showed what we got.”

Aquinas (26-4), the two-time defending 6A state champ and winner of 15 straight matches, advances to a state semifinal against Valrico Bloomingdale on Thursday, Nov. 6 at Polk State College at 1 p.m.

“We’re happy to go back to the state tournament with an opportunity to win three in a row.” said Aquinas coach Lisa Zielinski. “Every year it a different group, different team. To me it’s never the same.”

Guerrier added 10 kills, 13 assists and two blocks, while Merhi had seven kills and eight digs. Hailey Trebbien added 21 assists.

“We need to continue this rollercoaster ride and continue to get better,” said Merhi, who played her for two seasons of high school volleyball at West Boca before coming to St. Thomas. “Like today we need to push through and dominate.”

The Raiders improved to 13-0 against West Boca since 2007, while outscoring the Bulls 35-3 in sets played.

The Raiders are seeking to win their second three-peat and ninth overall state championship.

Aquinas made it clear they were the better team from the beginning of the match. In the first two sets the Raiders were dominant with commanding stretches, while never relinquishing the lead.

The Bulls (11-13), led 6-5 in the third set before Aquinas regained the lead for good with a 9-1 run in the third set for an 18-9 advantage.

West Boca never recovered.

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.

By Dave Brousseau
FORT LAUDERDALE – The journey toward for a third consecutive Class 6A state girls’ volleyball championship just got a step closer for St. Thomas Aquinas.

Led by senior Emmi Merhi’s 14 kills and 14 digs, the Raiders cruised to a convincing 25-4, 25-3, 25-9 victory over Mater Academy in regional semifinal match on Saturday.

Aquinas (25-4), winners of 14 consecutive matches, advances to a regional final at home against West Boca (11-12) on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The Raiders are 12-0 against West Boca dating back to 2007, outscoring the Bulls 32-3 in sets. Aquinas defeated West Boca 25-11, 25-16, 25-10 in a regional semifinal last year.

Aquinas was so dominated in the first two sets they recorded 17 consecutive points in the first set and 13 consecutive points in the second set.

“I thought we played very clean and didn’t have any unforced errors,” said Aquinas coach Lisa Zeilinski. “I thought we blocked very disciplined and defensively we had some great touches.”

Of the Raiders’ last 12 matches, they’ve lost only one set.

Senior Sydney Guerrier added 14 assists and five kills, while Leah Novatne had nine kills and Isabella Cabrera had seven kills and nine digs.

“Our practices are very competitive and when we get here, we put it all together and no one can beat us,” said Merhi. “We are unstoppable and are dominate. That’s the key when we perfect everything."

Hailey Trebbien assisted on 21 Raiders points and added four digs. Isabella Sangha, a senior commit to Notre Dame, didn’t play due to illness.

The Lions season ended at 13-5.

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.