PHOTOS: Strong fourth quarter pushes Wekiva past Windermere Prep -- Observer Preps

APOPKA The Wekiva Mustangs blew the doors off of what had been a back-and-forth game through three quarters Friday afternoon, outscoring the Windermere Prep Lakers — last season's state champions in Class 3A — 22-5 in the fourth quarter to score a 64-44 victory.

The game was the first of two appearances for the Mustangs (2-0) at the Metro vs. Florida Challenge at Apopka High, and the sole appearance for the Lakers (0-1), who will play in an event at Orlando Christian Prep Nov. 26.

Afterward, Wekiva head coach Gersino Lubin said it was a matter of executing on halftime adjustments to beat a very good team from Windermere Prep.

"The thing is, at half time, I told (our guys) to slow down — I thought Windermere Prep did a good job of speeding us up in the whole first half," Lubin said. "Normally, we play fast offensively, but this is the number three team in the area, so we can't play fast and take bad shots."

Leading the way for Wekiva, offensively, was a pair of double-doubles from Ruben Sheppard (22 points, 10 rebounds) and Paul Reed (19 points, 16 rebounds).

The Lakers were led by Rahsaan Lewis' 10 points and six steals.

Lubin says his team's defensive performance — the Mustangs limited Memphis commit David Nickelberry to only 8 points — was also key.

"Defense is huge for us," Lubin said. "The communication, I thought, was great — the rotation, guys sacrificing their bodies."

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].