St. John Paul II basketball overcome 20-point deficit, Munroe beat FAMU DRS to book spots in 2A District final

liam rooney, tallahassee democrat

Fri, Feb 9, 2024, 6:44 AM·5 min read

A play typically has five acts, often structured in a linear path and telling a compelling story.

Act one of the rivalry between St. John Paul II and North Florida Christian basketball took place during the regular season, with the Panthers beating the Eagles on both occasions.

Thursday night gave us acts two through five, ending with a grande finale that saw JPII beat NFC 53-48 and book a spot in the Class 2A District 1 final after being down by as many as 20 points to the Eagles.

"We went in at halftime and I told them 'There's no X's and O's. There's no gimmick, you're either gonna be all in, and gonna play your heart out or we're not playing for this championship," JPII head coach Issac Selva said. "At the end of the day, it's not easy to beat a team three times in one season, so we knew they were going to give us their best."

Munroe basketball beat FAMU DRS 86-68, St. John Paul II beat North Florida Christian 53-48 in the Class 2A District 1 semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2023 at Munroe

Selva's squad was down by 10 at the half, but JPII (12-13) began to chip away at the NFC (11-14) lead coming out of the break. However, when the buzzer sounded to signal the end of the third quarter the Panthers were still down by 10 points, but this time it felt different.

Clawing away at a 20-point lead, the Panthers hit a buzzer-beating three in the corner to end the third period, setting up a frantic fourth quarter.

Taking its first lead of the game with just over a minute to play in regulation, 49-47, senior guard Cayden King and junior forward Mario Forbes helped lead the Panthers to the comeback. The duo anchored a defense that allowed NFC to score just three points in the final period of play.

"It's all heart, we wanted it more and we showed that we were the more aggressive team," Forbes said. "We didn't start good, but it's all about how you finish."

Booking a spot in the final against the top-seeded Munroe, the Panthers are ready for the challenge. After playing a difficult schedule during the regular season, Selva said his team has experienced just about everything on the court and is ready for any moment.

"At this point in the year, there's absolutely nothing that a team can throw at us that we haven't seen. Whether it's a loud crowd or being down 20, being up 20, and having a team get a lead, we've seen it all," Selva said. "We know how to handle it, and we know how to plan for it.

The Panthers will face the Bobcats on Saturday, Feb. 10, in the 2A District 1 title game with tip off scheduled for 7 p.m. at Munroe.

Bobcats aggressive defense leads to big win over the Baby Rattlers

Munroe had its own story to tell on Thursday night.

Even though this story wasn't as dramatic as JPII vs. NFC, the Bobcats put on a show worthy of a top billing, beating FAMU DRS 86-68 to secure the Bobcats spot in the district title game.

In a wire-to-wire victory, seniors Leith Kenon (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Karlton Knight (20 points) led the Bobcats in scoring, but the key factor in the win over the Baby Rattlers (3-22) was the play defensively.

"We always come out of the gate aggressively and punch hard, we like to make sure that they don't have room to work," Kenon said. "So when we push them hard, they mess up, we get the ball and we score. That's always our plan."

Ranked as one of the top teams in the 2A classification by both MaxPreps and the FHSAA, Munroe (16-8) has solidified itself as a contender for not only district gold but a deeper run into the state tournament. Navigating one of the tougher schedules in 2A, Bobcats head coach Dimitric Salters said his team

"I think about 90% of our schedule was 5A, 6A and 7A schools, and that was done on purpose, to get us to this point now," Salters said. "We prepared for the playoffs throughout the regular season. Now is one of those times where we need to focus on what we did well, and that's doing our job on both ends of the floor."

Forcing 23 steals against FAMU DRS, Munroe showcased its ability to disrupt opposing offenses and create big-play opportunities on the fastbreak.

Late in the second half against the Baby Rattlers, Kenon threw down an ally-oop after forcing a steal, getting the crowd on its feet and adding confidence to the Bobcats squad, something he feels is important to the team's success.

"We are a young team so everything that happens is good for us, everybody gets pumped, the crowds pumped and that gets us pumped," Kenon said. "Everything that we do sparks us, so we play defense hard and that's how we do it. We are a defense first team."

The Bobcats are set to face JPII in the Class 2A District 1 final on Saturday, Feb. 10, at home. The Bobcats and Panthers split the regular season, with both teams winning one game each.

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