Pirates, Mustangs fall in regional quarterfinals

The Braden River and Lakewood Ranch High boys basketball teams saw their seasons come to an end in the regional quarterfinals Feb. 17.

The District 10 champion Pirates fell to Tampa Jesuit 38-27 in their first regional tournament appearance. Trailing 18-10 at halftime, Braden River closed out the third quarter with a 10-6 run to pull within three points of the Tigers at 24-21. But Tampa Jesuit’s four corners offense in the fourth quarter proved to be too much for the Pirates, who were outscored 14-6 and struggled to catch up.

Trevon Young led the way for Braden River will 11 points and six rebounds while Tre Bryant finished with 10 points — nine of which came from behind the arc.

Lakewood Ranch also failed to advance to the regional semifinals with a 60-57 loss to Tampa Blake.

The Mustangs led with less than two minutes to go before the Yellow Jackets evened the score and eventually took the lead after a Lakewood foul beyond the arc put Blake’s Andre Smith at the foul line. Smith sunk all three attempts with seconds remaining on the clock.

Brian Cobb led the way with 18 points and 11 rebounds and Jordan Baker added eight rebounds.

For a complete story on the Pirates and Mustangs regional quarterfinal appearances pick up the Feb. 24 issue of the East County Observer.