By Dave Brousseau - BCAA Writer
LAKELAND – The Fort Lauderdale Stranahan boys’ basketball team now can join what only two other Broward public schools have done before.
That’s winning four state championships.
The Dragons closed in on that opportunity with a 72-55 victory over Jacksonville Ribault in a Class 4A state semifinal on Tuesday at the RP Funding Center.
Stranahan (24-7) advances to the state championship on Thursday against St. Petersburg Gibbs at 7 p.m.
Stranahan has three titles to its credit. The first in school history came in 2019 (6A), following that with the 4A title in 2020 and a 5A title in 2022.
The combination of a stingy defense and scoring from Esron Simeon and Christian Yeargon was plenty enough to end the Trojans season.
“We came out in a zone, they got hot, and we switched to man-to man,” said head coach Edward Schuler. “We’re going to enjoy the next 24 hours and get back to it tomorrow.”
“We knew they had four left handers so out mission was to push them right they whole game and to stay on your man,” Schuler continued. “Off the rebound we played Stranahan basketball, staying in your lane and get the ball. We’re young and if this team wins, we have a chance to go back-to-back and do something special.”
When Damari Foster scored late in the second quarter for a 29-28 lead, the Dragons never trailed again. By the second half the lead ballooned into double-digits as the Trojans never threatened again especially them being held to 37-percent shooting from the field.
“It was defense playing Stranahan basketball,” said Simeon, who led the team with 21 points. “That’s all it was. That’s just us playing our game in doing what we do.”
With the Dragons defense doing its job, the offense took advantage of converting on 8 of 19 three-point attempts. Ribault made only three baskets from long-range, giving Stranahan plus 15 in scoring.
“This feels great,” said Yeargin, who had 20 points. “We’ve been here three times before. We want to build a legacy. We’re coming back to get our rings.”
Foster added 15 points, while David Nealy added 12 points.
If Stranahan comes home with a fourth state championship, they will join Pompano Beach Blanche Ely and Fort Lauderdale Dillard with at least four state championships.
Dave Brousseau can be reached on X at @dbrouss76 – or via e-mail at:
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