Boys basketball semifinal: Issac Tevarus scores 44, but NFEI loses to Weston Sagemont in OT

LAKELAND — North Florida Educational Institute’s Issac Tevarus won the two-man shootout with Weston Sagemont’s Adrian Cruz.

However, Cruz and Sagemont ended up winning the game, 76-72, in overtime in the Class 2A semifinals of the FHSAA boys basketball state tournament.

Tevarus finished the game with 44 points for NFEI before fouling out with 24.7 seconds left in overtime, while Cruz had 40 points for Sagemont, including all 11 of his team's points in overtime.

NFEI trailed almost the entire game, including by 16 in the second quarter and 13 in the third quarter.

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Tevarus led the Eagles’ comeback, scoring 34 of his 44 points in the second half.

“When we came to the locker room at halftime, in my mind it was like we had to step up and win this game,” Tevarus said. “We put everything out there on the floor and did everything we could.”

Trailing by seven late in the fourth quarter, 63-56, the Eagles cut it to 65-64 With 9.7 seconds left and Tevarus at the line for two free throws.

He made the first but missed the second. NFEI, however, rebounded the miss but Tevarus missed a shot just before the buzzer to send it to overtime.

“It was a big-time player making big time plays,” NFEI coach Stacey Poole Jr., said. “He didn’t make both free throws but in the fourth quarter, he did enough for us to survive.

“It would’ve been better if he would have made it but at the end of the day, a big time player made big-time plays and allowed us to go into overtime.”

Cruz scored the first four points in overtime to give the Lions a four-point lead that NFEI couldn’t erase.

“Adrian is a special kid and he did an amazing job willing us to a win,” Sagemont coach David Roe said.

Roe was equally impressed with NFEI’s Tevarus, who also finished with 16 rebounds.

“Their No. 3 (Tevarus) is one hell of a player,” Roe said. “That kid in the second half turned it on to the point where we were throwing anything we could at him and he was still getting the ball to go in.”

The Eagles, who finish the season 23-8, had trailed 31-15 early in the second quarter and 44-31 early in the third.

“Just keep fighting. We’ve been down before. We didn't start off good but during the game, I said just keep fighting and play NFEI basketball,” Poole said. “They did that and they fought back. It was just a great job by my guys. We fought hard, we just fell short. I'm just proud of them."

Sagemont's Domonic Issa was the only other player in double figures with 13.

Sagemont, 25-6, will play Orlando Christian Prep on Saturday at 10 a.m., for the Class 2A championship.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Sagement beats NFEI in overtime in FHSAA boys basketball semifinal