Turnovers Hurt Westminster Christian, Warriors Fall In 4A Semifinal

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LAKELAND – Had you known that Westminster Christian would shoot 40 percent from the field compared to its opponents' 28 percent – you'd think the Warriors would've had a pretty good chance of winning its game Wednesday.

Unfortunately, Westminster Christian also turned the ball over 29 times.

Saddled by turnovers and missed shots in crucial situations, Westminster Christian fell to Melbourne Holy Trinity 41-38 Wednesday afternoon in the Class 4A state semifinal at The Lakeland Center.

After leading 31-29 at the end of the third quarter, the Warriors took a 33-29 lead at the start of the fourth; but the Tigers – who will play either Jacksonville Bolles or Tampa Catholic in the Class 4A championship game – went on an 8-0 run and made four free throws late to take a 41-35 lead in the waning minutes.

Westminster's Tyler Halfaker hit an inconsequential three-pointer at the buzzer to make the final score 41-38.

In addition to the turnovers, the Warriors shot just 28 percent from the field in the second half.

Westminster Christian head coach P.J. Brown gave credit to Holy Trinity.

"You have to give them a lot of credit. They did a great job defensively of just being there and making us work and take tough shots," Brown said. "We turned the ball over 29 times, so a ton of credit to [Holy Trinity]".

"Even when they made their run in the fourth, I felt like we were fine. It was just the constant buildup of turnovers that did us in. Even with the turnovers, we missed shots. Either you have to finish those shots or you cannot turn the ball over. It's so many small things in the game that have to go your way…and they didn't go our way today," Brown added.

Things were very much going Westminster Christian's way early.

The game began about as well as the Warriors, who were playing in their first basketball final four in school history, could've wanted – shooting 89 percent from the field and winning the rebound battle 11 to three in the first quarter while holding a 16-2 lead with just under two minutes left in the opening stanza.

Holy Trinity closed the quarter with a quick pair of buckets and used that small spurt to spark an elongated 17-3 run through the second quarter.

Westminster Christian powered the Tigers' run with 10 second-quarter turnovers; Holy Trinity even took a 23-21 lead late in the second before Halfaker cleaned up an errant layup attempt in the waning seconds to tie the game at 23 just before the halftime buzzer.

"Once they got the momentum, they were able to feed off of it for the whole game," Brown said.

The third quarter started off well enough for the Warriors as senior guard Justin Brown gave his team a 28-23 lead and Holy Trinity went on a nearly five-minute scoring drought. But more turnovers kept the Tigers in it and hindered the Warriors from building any momentum.

Brown, who is of no relation to his head coach, scored a game-high 18 points for Westminster Christian. While he carried the team throughout, his shots began to fall short in the fourth quarter – as he played all 32 minutes of the grueling game.

"I did feel a gassed late, but at this point of the season you have to push yourself and get past all of that," the senior said. "I definitely tried to do that, but the shots just weren't falling."

Westminster got seven points from Keon Paicely and Halfaker; John Raine, who's signed to play football at Florida Atlantic University, John Square and Jake Wright each only finished with two points.

While Holy Trinity's highest scorer was Cory Kaplan's 10 points, the Tigers did have seven players register points and had just 16 turnovers Tuesday.

"Both teams battled as tough as possible," Coach Brown said. "I think this is something that shows the younger kids in the program what it takes to be a championship team. It starts new every day. The work that you put in day in and day out makes you have a sense of pride every time you step on the court – and makes you feel as though no one can take that away from you."

"We battled and were right there at the end. We didn't finish like we typically do. But we battled to the end like we always do," Brown added.

Box Score

Class 4A state semifinal: Melbourne Holy Trinity 41, Miami Westminster Christian 38 – WMC (22-8): Brown 18, Paicely 7, Halfaker 7, Raine 2, Square 2, Wright 2. MHT (23-7): Kaplan 10, Porteous 9, Schwab 6, Corbin 5, Griffin 4, Coleman 4, Forde 3. Halftime: Tied 23-23. Three-pointers: Porteous, Corbin, Brown, Halfaker. Fouled out: Schwab.