Blanche Ely Survives Melbourne; Tigers Win 62-59, Move On To 7A Final

SFHSSports: Twitter | Facebook

LAKELAND – Who better to have on the free throw line in crucial game situations other than a senior?

A senior that already knows what it takes to win a state championship.

After his team saw a six-point fourth quarter dwindle down in the final 40 seconds of the game, it was Blanche Ely senior Trevor Goodrum who hit four game-sealing free throws to lift the Tigers to a 62-59 win over Melbourne Friday afternoon in the Class 7A state semifinals at The Lakeland Center.

Blanche Ely (19-13) will face St. Petersburg Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. in the Class 7A championship game.

Goodrum, who led Ely with 21 points, three assists and four steals, made two free throws to put the Tigers up 60-56 before Melbourne made a three-pointer with just two seconds left. The Bulldogs fouled Goodrum again and he drained two more to put his team up 62-59 with one second left on the clock.

Goodrum, one of only three returning players from Ely's championship team of 2015, said he just had to focus at the free throw line.

"When I stepped up there, I told myself to just focus in more," said Goodrum, who also missed a pair of free throws in the final minute. "I focused and I knocked them down."

After Ely took a 54-47 lead with just over two minutes left in the game, it wouldn't score another field goal through the duration of the game – needed the free throws to seal the victory.

The constant was the Tigers' defense. Ely played with its patented full-court pressure and forced Melbourne into 29 turnovers – something that visibly frustrated the Bulldogs.

"They made us uncomfortable with their defensive pressure," said Melbourne head coach Michael Soliven. "We couldn't run our offense like we wanted to and they sped us up. And when they sped us up, we made bad decisions."

Ely held Melbourne's Noah Horchler, who had just scored 30 points in the regional final, to 14 points on 6-for-3 shooting with 11 rebounds. Logan Folsum led the Bulldogs with 16 points and Dorian Nesmith added 12.

Also, the Tigers got a solid outing from senior guard Mark "Scooty" Houston. Houston added 13 points while sophomore Michael Forrest finished with 13 points – including a pair of three-pointers. Nicholas Stampley battled in the low post and grabbed down a game-high 13 rebounds for the Tigers.

The 2015-16 season has been a bit different for Ely, which responded to a Melbourne 7-0 third quarter run with a 9-0 run of its own to take a 42-32 lead into the fourth quarter.

Last year, the Tigers became only the sixth program in FHSAA history to complete a "perfect season" since the turn of the century – going 28-0. This season, Ely didn't win its district, lost in the championship game of the BCAA Big 8 and totaled 13 losses.

Still, head coach Melvin Randall said his team's goal was to get to the state final four.

"We've been fighting all year long. We've had naysayers along the way…saying that this is a 'down year' for Ely," Randall said. "We lost 13 games this year and in the past four years, we lost a total of eight, so people were saying that we're down. We had just three returning players that had experience from the previous years – 12 new faces overall."

"But we fought and these kids stepped up to the challenge. We didn't buy into any excuses," Randall said.

Randall has won six state titles as a head coach – the most in Broward County history. He won two rings at Deerfield Beach (1997 & 1999) earlier in his career and led Blanche Ely to titles in 2007, back to back titles in 2012 and 2013, and another in 2015. Also, Randall is ahead of Fort Lauderdale Dillard coach Darryl Burrows – who has five titles, but could capture his sixth championship this weekend.

Still, Ely finds itself on the doorstep of a second straight Class 7A title. And it would be even more of an impressive feat if it wins another state crown in this "down year".

"Our goal is not to win district titles," Randall began.

"No matter what our roster looks like, our goal is to make it to Lakeland. We faced some adversity this season, but the kids stuck together and I think they are gelling at the right time. Winning district titles are nice, but our goal is to always make it Lakeland and win state titles."

Box Score

Class 7A state semifinal: Blanche Ely 62, Melbourne 59 – BE (19-13): Goodrum 21, Forrest 13, Houston 12, Taylor 5, Stampley 3, Maloney 6, M. Smith 2. MEL (29-3): Folsum 16, Horchler 14, Nesmith 12, Brown 6, Riffee 5, Jackson 3, Chiles 3. Halftime: BE 30-23. Three-pointers: Goodrum 3, Houston 2, Forrest 2, Brown 2, Horchler, Chiles. Fouled out: Chiles. Technicals: Chiles. Rebounds: Stampley 13. Assists: Goodrum 3. Steals: Goodrum 4. Blocks: 2 tied 1.