GREENACRES – There is a great reason why Lake Worth is the best boys basketball team in Palm Beach County.
Simply put, our area’s most talented team can beat an opponent in many different ways.
To win the District 8-7A title, the top-ranked and top-seeded Trojans (21-1) needed to rally from a double digit deficit against the fourth-ranked and second-seeded Wellington Wolverines (20-5) on Friday night (Feb. 10).
Lake Worth came back from a 47-29 halftime deficit to beat Wellington by a score of 73-71 at John I. Leonard High School’s gymnasium.
So how did the Trojans get it done?
We will go right to the game’s final play.
With 7.6 seconds left and the scored tied at 71-71, Lake Worth took the ball quickly up the court for a game-winning possibility.
Watch for yourself to see how the Trojans got it done at the final buzzer.
Game winner by @Jrcurrykid_ while @bobointhecutt and @li_merv brought the team back from nearly a 20 deficit. @LWHBasketball @PBCBBallForum @EraPrep pic.twitter.com/cdCiQuBggW
— FutureDraftStyle (@FutureDraftStyl) February 11, 2023
Lake Worth senior point guard Calvin Sirmans spoke on how the game winner came about.
“It was a put back for the win,” Sirmans said. “At the end of the game, it was about eight seconds left when I got the ball. I knew I needed to try to get something going to the basket cause I have players around me who will crash the boards hard. So I attacked the basket and missed. But Hedrens Barthelus cleaned it up for the win.”
Sirmans explained how Lake Worth had to battle back from a seemingly insurmountable deficit in the first place.
“We came out slow in the first half,” Sirmans said. “A couple key players got in foul trouble, so that kind of hurt us with getting defensive rebounds. I just wanted to do whatever it took to try to keep us in the game and keep everyone locked in.”
With that said, Lake Worth successfully avenged last season’s district title loss to Wellington and has won it for the second time in three years.
NOTE: Lake Worth and every other boys basketball team in the state will know of their FHSAA state playoff fate during Selection Sunday (Feb. 12).
PHOTO/VIDEO CREDIT: Future Draft Style
