Archbishop Carroll Gets Overwhelmed, Bulldogs Fall In 3A Semifinal

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LAKELAND – Archbishop Carroll's version of "small ball" just wasn't big enough Tuesday.

Not having a player over 6-foot-3 finally caught up with the Bulldogs, as they were severely outrebounded and fell 80-61 to Windermere Prep Tuesday night in the Class 3A state semifinals at The Lakeland Center.

Windermere Prep (21-5) will face Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy, which rallied back to defeat Orlando First Academy 68-58 in overtime in the other semifinal, Thursday in the Class 3A championship game.

The Bulldogs (26-5) have typically been the smaller team every time they've stepped onto the court this season – but Windermere's front court, which featured 6-foot-7 junior star David Nickelberry, totally overwhelmed Carroll.

Archbishop Carroll lost the rebound battle 40 to 22, which was only exacerbated by the Bulldogs shooting just 32 percent from the field.

Bulldogs head coach Juan Hernandez said his team wasn't its true self Tuesday.

"I didn't know what team was out there today because that wasn't us," Hernandez said of his team that was playing in its first-ever basketball state final four. "Our strength is on the defensive end and we just didn't guard well in the first half. I don't think it was nerves…obviously you have to give [Windermere Prep] a lot of credit. They are a good team."

After Archbishop Carroll trailed just 12-10 with 2:47 left in the first quarter, the Lakers went on a 16-2 run through the end of the first and into the second quarter – as the Bulldogs shot 26 percent from the field.

The deficit ballooned to 46-23 at halftime – mirroring the fact that Windermere had grabbed 21 first half rebounds compared to just seven for Carroll.

"It's been the story for us all year. We usually mask that with our pressure and our tempo – a lot of times taking big guys out of the game. But they did that to us tonight and they got run outs on us and the pace was to their liking.

"I don't have a 7-footer walking through the door," quipped Hernandez, making a slight reference to his having coached 7-foot center Amida Brimah at Carroll before he went on to UConn.

After trailing by as much as 32, Archbishop Carroll fought its way back in the fourth quarter, getting three-pointers from Gus Deribeaux and Christian Silva to outscore the Lakers and make the final deficit 80-61.

Silva led the Bulldogs with 17 points (5 for 8 from three-point range) and five rebounds. Fred Luis added 13 points and Deribeaux finished with 11. Archbishop Carroll's leading scorer during the regular season – Christian Anglada – was only able to notch six points on 3-of-11 shooting.

"[Windermere] is long and they are really athletic. Our shots didn't fall and we weren't getting back, which led to run outs. And their lead just kept growing and growing," Silva said.

Windermere had four players finish with double-figure points – led by Parker Davis' 25 points. Nickleberry put together a strong floor game, totaling 17 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals; while Xion Golding and Will Seelman finished with 15 and 10 points respectively.

While Archbishop Carroll does have six seniors that'll graduate, it still has a nice core that should return next season – including Silva and Deribeaux.

Hernandez said that he's not discouraged by Tuesday's outcome.

"This game cannot define our season," Hernandez said. "We had a tremendous season. I am extremely proud of this group. We have some key guys that are crying in that locker room right now because they're seniors and they're done. But what they've done for the program and this school is a testament to them – getting here in a short period of time. I'm not going to allow this game to define who we are as a program."

Box Score

Class 3A state semifinals: Windermere Prep 80, Archbishop Carroll 61 - ABC (26-5): Silva 17, Luis 13, Deribeaux 11, Garcia 6, Anglada 6, Cordero 5, Aarestrup 3. WP (21-5): Davis 25, Nickleberry 17, Golding 15, Seelman 10, Seigel 6, Aratius 4, Swoboda 3. Halftime: WP 46-23. Three-pointers: Silva 5, Deribeaux 3, Golding 2, Cordero, Aarestrup.