Wildcats fight for title

Winter Park’s boys basketball team dominated Cypress Creek on their way to a 92-71 district championship win.

That blowout was just one of many on the Wildcats’ romp through district play last week, in which they defeated three opponents by an average of 28 points.

In all three games, the Wildcats took the lead from the tipoff, pushing a relentless scoring pace that seldom let up until the fourth quarter, when the Wildcats found themselves cruising with bench players.

Wildcats star Austin Rivers continues to consistently score above 25 points per game, despite taking on tougher playoff foes. As usual, he could play a crucial role in the games to come, especially against the only Florida team the Wildcats didn’t defeat this year, Miami’s Dr. Krop.

And that game will be the Wildcats’ biggest test of their improvement over the season.

“We’re hoping to build on our way into the postseason,” Coach David Bailey said. Now the Wildcats will have to prove it.

In the second week of the season, the Wildcats fell 76-55 to Dr. Krop, in a game in which Winter Park actually led after the first quarter, 16-12. In that game, the Lightning did one thing that many teams failed at this season: containing Rivers. He scored only 19 points in the game — a high water mark for many players, but well below his season average of nearly 30 points per game.

The Wildcats will face Dr. Krop in the final four if they get that far. But starting Thursday night, they’ll battle for the regional championship, starting with a first-round matchup against Lake Howell.

Winter Park will enjoy the home-court advantage for that game, starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17.