It’s often said FHSAA district championships don’t mean as much as they used to. That’s because all the best teams advance to regional play whether they win or lose in district tournaments.
But try telling the Lake Howell boys basketball team that beating third-ranked Daytona Beach Mainland in Friday night’s Class 6A District 4 tournament final wasn’t something very special. The Silver Hawks (22-5), ranked sixth in 6A, erased an early Mainland (22-3) lead and scored a 73-61 victory at Oviedo High School to claim their program’s first district title in 18 years.
The impressive win sparked a joyous celebration for players and fans on the court at Oviedo High School. Every Lake Howell player touched the championship trophy before it was handed to eighth-year head coach Mike Sutton, who squeezed the plaque like it was an Olympic gold medal.
“These kids deserve this,” Sutton said. “Our school deserves this. We built this program back up brick by brick and it feels fantastic.”
The SilverHawks last previous district title came in 2008, a year after their 2006-07 state championship season.
Isaac Buckley, a 6-7, 208-pound senior, muscled his way to 18 points to lead Lake Howell. He made a 3-point shot to spark the 9-0 run that gave Lake Howell a second quarter lead it never relinquished. Stellar sophomore Johnas Maurice added 14 points, as did junior Sam Atari and 6-9 senior Ethan Diaz.
“It feels so good to come together as a team and give our coach a district title,” Buckley said.
Finally! Lake Howell wins the big one
Lake Howell topped tourney host Oviedo 59-48 in a Wednesday semifinal that drew a standing-room-only crowd.
The SilverHawks, who also claimed the Seminole Athletic Conference title with a perfect record against county teams, will have home-court advantage for their region quarterfinal.
The four district champions in each region advance to round of 32 games set for Saturday, Feb. 14. Four at-large teams will be added to each regional bracket — selected via the FHSAA’s power rankings, which will be updated after district finals concoude. The boys and girls pairings are scheduled to be announced Monday by the FHSAA on its YouTube channel, starting at 2 p.m.
By Buddy Collings
CHECK HIGH SCHOOL SCORES POSTS FOR SATURDAY DISTRICT FINAL MATCHUPS
OCP takes title
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Orlando Christian Prep won a district title for the ninth time in 10 seasons on Friday and savored the victory for a different reason.
One year and two days after losing to Central Florida Christian Academy in the 2025 Class 1A District 7 title game, the Warriors (19-6) got revenge, winning 60-49 at CFCA.
Senior point guard Josh Theus scored 22 points and added 4 assists for the Warriors, who overcame a slow start. Mason Pandov, another senior guard, added 11 points, including the clinching free throws at the end to put the game out of reach for the Eagles (19-7).
“It always feels great to win the district title because that guarantees you a spot in the state tournament, so you always feel great for that,” said OCP head coach Treig Burke.
OCP trailed 18-13 after the first quarter but outscored the Eagles 16-5 in the second and led the rest of the way.
Junior guard Trevor Miller scored 16 points to lead CFCA, which edged OCP 44-41 in their regular season meeting.
The Eagles came in ranked No. 3 in 3A, one spot ahead of OCP, and will join the Warriors in the eight-team Region 2 tournament.
Last season, CFCA beat OCP in the district final and won again in an instant repeat region quarterfinal.
OCP routed ninth-ranked Legacy Charter 70-34 in a Thursday semifinal.
By Chris Martucci
Montverde beats Boyle
Montverde Academy (15-5) pulled scored 26 second-chance points and beat national No. 1 Spire Academy of Ohio in a Nike EYBL Circuit game played in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Friday night.
Spire (19-2) hired legendary coach Kevin Boyle away from Montverde last year.
It was a big win for new Montverde coach Steve Turner, who replaced Boyle after compiling a 497-176 record at Gonzaga College High School of Washington, D.C.
St. Cloud lost boys basketball players, but keeps winning | Varsity Weekly
Varsity content editor Buddy Collings can be contacted by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.
