LAKE WORTH – In what was a memorable four-day Perseverance Basketball Tournament, the ending of it proved to be the best part overall at the Palm Beach State College Gymnasium.
On this past Thursday night (June 9), second-seeded Sagemont (FHSAA Class 2A) went down to the wire with top-seeded Wellington (FHSAA Class 7A) in the tournament title game, as multiple lead changes took place from start to finish.
Down 24-21 at halftime, Sagemont used its championship experience to its advantage by taking timely shots and making timely stops against Wellington.
It ultimately paid off with two seconds left, as Sagemont combo guard Cameron Gibson (2024) took the ball up the court, set up a screen, and kicked it out to fellow guard Devontae Jean (2024) on the right corner. This level of awareness was key, as Jean’s three-pointer went in to seal the 47-44 tournament title win for Sagemont.
“We just want the ball in the playmaker’s hands at the end of the game,” Sagemont head coach David Roe said. “We got it into his hands and we got to trust him to do the right thing. He made the right read and fortunately, he hit the shot.”
Wellington head coach Matthew Colin reflected on the tournament’s final play as well.
“They’re a great team,” Colin said. “They executed really well. They got size. They got really good guards. They can shoot it. They got a little bit of everything. I’m just proud of my guys for hanging in there. We had to play three games in a row. They (the Wellington players) were dog tired, but they gutted it out and it came down to the wire. Hats off to both teams for being tough and competitive on a day where you got to play a lot of games.”
With that said, there were many teams in the Perseverance Basketball Tournament, which lasted from June 6 until June 9. Aside from Sagemont (tournament winner) and Wellington (tournament runner-up), some of these programs included the following:
•Jupiter A (third seed; tournament semifinalist)
•Wellington Wolves Select (fourth seed; tournament semifinalist)
•Jupiter B
•Grandview Prep
•Park Vista
•Palm Beach Lakes
•John I. Leonard
•Olympic Heights
“We want to extend a thank you to all the teams that participated in our 2022 Summer High School Team Camp,” Perseverance Basketball Director of Events Brandon Mycal Strassburger said. “This four-day event featured 20 teams from Miami, Broward, Palm Beach, and Martin counties, which covered more than 200 student-athletes and hundreds of spectators. The event was extremely competitive and had people coming to recruit from NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA, JUCO, and prep schools.”
NOTE: The East Coast Basketball Officials Association had their crew of officials on hand to provide a well-called slew of games for the four-day experience.
PHOTO CREDITS: Samuel Merz/Future Draft Style
