CFCA basketball wins region, earns trip to Lakeland | Observer Preps

OCOEE — The CFCA Eagles are going to Lakeland.

Knotted up with Florida Prep in a 45-45 tie with 4:10 left in the FHSAA Class 2A, Region 3 Final, the Eagles outscored the Falcons 20-8 the rest of the way, sealing a 65-53 win — and the program’s first trip to the FHSAA Final Four since 1997.

“This is an accumulation of four years of a lot of hard work and sweat,” head coach Jonathan McClintock said afterward. “We’ve been knocking on the door the past couple of years and I feel so thankful and blessed that we got to break it down tonight.”

The game was rematch of last year’s regional final, which Florida Prep won 45-40 in Melbourne.

“They knocked us out last year and we wanted to get them back,” senior guard Dante Treacy said. “We just kept telling each other to keep pushing.”

Treacy scored 14 points for the Eagles and forwards Jordan Preaster and Lorenzo Burdon each scored 11 points. Bryce Street scored a team-high 16 points for the Eagles, including four made 3-pointers.

CFCA (28-3) prevailed in a game that neither team led by more than two possession until the back half of the fourth quarter. The Eagles came out of a timeout with 3:36 remaining on a 14-1 run that sealed the victory in front of a boisterous home crowd in Ocoee.

“Our kids are mentally tough and they’re able to take the game one segment at a time,” McClintock said of his team’s ability to handle the back-and-forth game.

CFCA will play Miami Christian in the state semifinals at 4 p.m. March 5 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.