Miami Norland wins 7th boys basketball state championship
LAKELAND, FLORIDA – Make it lucky No. 7 – it just took a while to get there.
Miami Norland won its seventh FHSAA boys basketball state championship in school history Friday at the RP Funding Center after turning back Tampa Blake 61-48 in the Class 5A state championship game.
Miami Norland players celebrate while receving the Class 5A state championship basketball trophy on Friday after beating Tampa Blake for the title at the RP Funding Center.
Bill Kemp
Norland last won the state title in 2015, capping off a four-peat in 6A, all coached by Lawton Williams III, who also coached Norland to state championships in 2006 and 2008.
“It’s really sweet because I haven’t been here in nine years,” Norland head coach Lawton Williams III said. “We worked for this. We practiced at 5 a.m. a lot of times, we just worked.”
Blake took an early 25-22 halftime lead but Norland dominated the third quarter, going on a 17-5 to hold a 39-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
“We were only down three points and we played as bad as we could play,” Williams said. “Defense (triggered the turnaround). We really got up and guarded them. We ran and jumped and pressured the ball. We rattled them.”
Miami Norland guard Triston Wilson drives to the basket during the Class 5A state championship basketball game on Friday against Tampa Blake at the RP Funding Center.
Bill Kemp
Norland (21-10) was led by Presbyterian signee Triston Wilson with 23 points and seven rebounds while Missouri signee Marcus Allen scored seven points with eight rebounds.
“This is a great feeling,” Wilson said. “We lost in the regional final game three years in a row but to win my last high school game is a great feeling. We had great teams all three years so I was starting to feel the pressure, and eventually this year we ended up breaking through and we finally won one."
Blake (26-6) was led by Kentrwll Martin with 16 points while Joshua Lewis added 12 and Joe Philon finished with 10 in the loss.
Allen was part of the team as a freshman and sophomore before moving out to Arizona for his junior year. But he returned - now triumphantly - for his senior season.
“It’s an unreal feeling,” Allen said. “My first two years at Norland this was the goal. To get this win, and get this on my resume is a good thing for us. We’ve been through a lot this season and coach made us practice a lot, going hard before school even started in the morning. So coming out here and winning was a good thing for us.”
Miami Norland players and coaches gather around the Class 5A state championship basketball trophy on Friday after beating Tampa Blake for the title at the RP Funding Center.
Bill Kemp
