American Heritage 75, Pittsburgh (PA) Central Catholic 51

We opened up play in the Great Florida Shootout with a game against a team from Pittsburgh by the name of Central Catholic. The team we played had major success in the state of Pennsylvania last year, and returned 3 starters and its top scorer, who is being recruited to play Division 1 basketball. As a coach, I was a little concerned coming into the game that our squad would have a let-down after playing in the City of Palms tournament. Well - we won the game by 24 points, but, to be honest, we got better and better as the game went on. We started out a little slowly, but our speed and athleticism took over as the clock kept ticking. I was very happy for Marcus Blake, who turned in his first double double of the season with a 10 point, 10 rebound performance. As usual, Kenny Boynton played with passion and heart to lead us, and scored 23 points in the victory. All 12 guys on the trip with us got a chance to play in the game - for more than 3 minutes. I was happy to see some guys get in the game who usually don't play a lot - and they played hard.
Tonight (8:30pm) we play against a team from Kentucky called Shelby Valley. They beat the host team last night, and are a very good team. In watching them play last night, they use their 6-10 center very well, and play a very smart brand of basketball. Our team will come out ready to play tonight, and I look forward to the matchup.

American Heritage 78, Duncanville (TX) 73

What a great, great win for the American Heritage School Basketball program! Yesterday at the City of Palms Tournament (called the best high school basketball tournament - ever), the Heritage boys were able to knock off the # 10 ranked team in the USA, Duncanville High School from Texas. In fact, Duncanville has been # 1 in the USA, according to both USA Today and ESPN. A great, great win, as we were able to pull off a big win against a team with 6 committed high division 1 players, and probably more players yet to commit.
I am proud of and happy for my entire team - those that played a lot and those that didn't play - and would like to continue the momentum.
Today we play a terrific Olympia team, with 4 players who have signed Division 1 scholarships. We play a tough schedule, but I would not have it any other way.
GO PATRIOTS!

Word of God 63, American Heritage 61

Our first game at the City of Palms tournament in 2008 saw American Heritage match up with the # 8 team in the USA Today Top 25 basketball poll, Word of God from Raleigh, NC. We came out expecting to win, and were confident all week in practice and in the locker room. I take responsibility for the poor start in this game, as we did not come out playing FAST enough, and found ourselves staring at a 15 point halftime deficit. I know this team - they are FIGHTERS - and they will never quit nor give up. Next thing you know, behind strong play on the defensive end, we were tied up. I felt good about winning the game at this point, as we were forcing the Rivals.com # 1 ranked player (he is very, very good) into a game high 8 turnovers. WE HELD THE LEAD with 12 seconds to go, 61-60, and we were able to get a stop on the defensive end, and we had our point guard, Raymond Taylor shooting free throws in a 1 and 1 situation. Honestly - I was so confident that he would make them both - but the first one rimmed around and out. Next thing you know, we were playing defense and gave up a score. Kenny Boynton had a tough shot for the win, and although there was contact, and although John Wall admitted to fouling KB, the referee called a jump ball with 1.1 seconds to play. We ended up losing the game 63 - 61. That marks two games in a row that we have come up 2 points short to really good teams. WE WILL GET BETTER, and we will be better for having played this schedule.
We play this afternoon against the State 3A Finalist Dunbar High School, which is the same school that Kenny was able to put up 61 points against in this tournament a year ago.

Pine Crest 74, American Heritage 72

In front of a sold out and terrific crowd at the Coral Springs Gymnasium, the Pine Crest Panthers beat our Patriots by a score of 74 - 72 last night. Give credit where credit is due - PC is a good team with good players and an experienced coaching staff. But I also give credit to my team - we overcame a poor start, foul trouble, a hot Brandon Knight, and 3 other problems to battle back and tie the game at 72 - 72. I have respect for the defending State Champion PC Panthers, but I really want to play them again - TODAY!
I was extremely happy with our Junior big man Jake Wheeler, who played a great game. Kenny Boynton picked up his 2nd foul less than 5 minutes into the game, so he was forced to sit out for a good portion of the 1st half. Remi Barry made his debut last night, and did a great job for us. Juan Ferrales proved his toughness again last night, by guarding the other teams' best player in the half court all night and by hitting the 3 pointer that tied the game at 72. Our freshman, Daiquan Walker did a nice job for us last night, and I was happy to see him perform so well in that atmosphere.
Thanks to everybody that attended and a special thanks to everybody that helped get this game to happen off campus. As most of you know, PC asked to move the game from their place, so the move to the Coral Springs Gym did create some issues for everybody.