If someone had told Lake Highland Prep boys basketball coach Ben Fratrik that his team was only going to score one basket in the second quarter Saturday night against streaking Lake Howell, he would likely not have expected to come out on the winning end.
But that’s exactly what happened in the marquee matchup at the Showdown in OTown at Orlando Christian Prep. It wasn’t that the Highlanders, the area’s No. 1 team in the FHSAA rankings, were missing shots. It was that Lake Howell kept putting Lake Highland at the free-throw line with scrappy defense. LHP made the Silverhawks pay.
Lake Highland made 13-of-17 second-quarter free throws and led at halftime 27-24. Then the Highlanders eventually pulled away win their 12th straight game 67-55.
The loss ended a 10-game winning streak by Lake Howell (13-3), ranked No. 6 in the area and Class 6A.
“The guys did a good job to keep their composure,” Fratrik said. “[Lake Howell] did a really good job guarding us.”
But too good a job in the second quarter. Lake Howell was whistled for 10 fouls in the second period as Lake Highland paraded to the line. The game got a bit chippy just before halftime as players had to be separated.
Lake Highland (16-1) regrouped after halftime, changed its defense a bit to clog things up in the paint and eventually got its running game going to perfection.
A Robert Oskarsson 3-pointer midway through the third quarter jump-started a run that allowed LHP to post a 46-38 lead after three. The Highlanders then got out on the fast break to start the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run and it was too much to overcome.
Lake Highland built as much as a 17-point lead in the fourth.
“They changed defenses a little bit and we were able to get to the front of the rim and into the paint a little more,” Fratrik said. “We were able to change some things defensively, which led to some run-outs and some stuff in transition.”
The Highlanders were led by RJ Ingram’s 20 points and 10 rebounds. Mikey Madueme had 19 points and 6 rebounds, and Oskarsson scored16 points, including three 3s.
Lake Howell’s talented point guard Johnas Maurice led the SIlverhawk with 18 points. Isaac Buckley added 17.
The Highlanders, ranked second in the state behind Class 7A Miami Columbus, complement each other with multiple players capable of of picking up the slack on any given night.
“We’ve got four seniors who start. And it’s a very mature, composed group,” Fratrik said. “I just give them a ton of credit. They don’t get rattled too easily.
“They kind of know who they are and who we are and they believe in it and trust one another and trust their coaches. It is an absolutely wonderful group of young men. It’s a lot of fun.”
Elsewhere
Kissimmee Osceola (13-4) scored 31 points in the first quarter and 30 in the third while rolling to an 82-50 win against Eustis (13-4) in the Nathan Hayes Shootout at Mount Dora Christian Academy. Ryan Rodriguez had 17 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Kowboys, who had five players score in double figures.
In an earlier game at MDCA, Alexander Dipaolo scored 19 points and and Sean Storr added 17 for Central Florida Christian Academy (12-4) in a 77-66 win against Lecanto (11-4). Storr made five 3s.
Chris Hays can be found on X.com @OS_ChrisHays. Sentinel Varsity content editor Buddy Collings contributed in this report.
