WEST PALM BEACH – The game was literally on the line for both Dwyer and Forest Hill.
In last night’s (Feb. 18) Class 7A-Region 3 quarterfinal matchup between two of Palm Beach County’s best boys basketball teams, it came down to two things: fouls and free throws.
With the game tied at 47-47 late in the third quarter, Dwyer junior guard Xavier Scott (14 points) drew a foul and converted on both of his free throw attempts at the six-second mark.
This gave his team a 49-47 lead over Forest Hill going into the fourth quarter.
While the game felt like it could have gone either way, the Panthers (11-3) did what they needed to do in avoiding careless and costly mistakes down the stretch.
As a team, the Panthers got to the free throw line quite often. They scored 11 of their 19 fourth-quarter points from the stripe to secure a 68-63 win over the Falcons (10-3 final record).
“We were going to stay composed,” Scott said. “We weren’t going to make no stupid turnovers. We were going to stick together and push for the win.”
Scott spoke on Dwyer’s 11 free throws made in the fourth quarter against Forest Hill.
“Coach [Fred Ross] told us the whole time we gotta attack them,” Scott said. “We can’t back up. We gotta attack the pressure. We can never back up from the pressure.”
Dwyer sophomore Kyle McNeal was sensational in the pivotal fourth quarter, as he led the team with 17 points in their Class 7A-Region 3 quarterfinal game against Forest Hill. He scored eight of those points in the fourth quarter, with six coming from the free throw line.
“Kyle McNeal is an excellent player,” Scott said. “He’s going to be one of top players by the time he’s a senior. I really appreciate Kyle. He’s a hard worker.”
Dwyer senior Cameron Gordon concurred.
“Kyle is a great young player,” said Gordon, who scored four points for Dwyer last night. “He can shoot it. He can dribble it. He can do it all. He’s going to be great. Trust.”
Gordon spoke on his team’s total effort from start to finish.
“We all came together,” Gordon said. “We knew from the jump we couldn’t do it one-on-one. We were gonna have to do it as a team. Work together as a team, play defense as a team, and all crashing the boards. We knew that we had to stay positive and keep going. If we didn’t keep going, I don’t know what would have happened.”
Dwyer committed just five fouls in the entire game, while Forest Hill committed 15 total. This was the primary difference maker in last night’s playoff game.
With that, Dwyer will move on to the 7A-Region 3 semifinal round next week (Feb. 23; 7 p.m. tip-off) at home against Wellington (11-2).
“We’re gonna do the same thing,” Scott said of Dwyer’s next playoff game. “We’re gonna play hard and execute. We’re gonna stick to
the game plan. We’re gonna come out with the win. We’re going to states.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Ronaldo Garcia
