Twins launch Pine Crest past Astronaut into 4A final
LAKELAND — As it turned out, Titusville Astronaut didn’t have an answer for Fort Lauderdale Pine Crest’s Thompson twins.
Ausar and Amen Thompson, 6-foot-4 juniors, combined for 45 points to lead the Class 4A No. 1-ranked Panthers to a 68-47 win over No. 3 Astronaut in the Class 4A semifinals of the FHSAA boys basketball state finals at the RP Funding Center Thursday.
Pine Crest (20-1) will face Alachua Santa Fe in the Class 4A championship game Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Ausar Thompson led the Panthers with 27 points while Amen Thompson added 18 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Together, they combined for 11 rebounds and 13 assists.
“We’ve been playing together since third grade, so I think I know this dude (Amen) pretty well," Ausar Thompson said.
"I see him (breaking down the floor) before I get the rebound, so getting my assists up, I’m chill with that," Amen Thompson added.
The loss closes out Astronaut’s best season since the 1980 War Eagle team, led by Anthony Delancey and Wilber Marshall, lost to Derek Harper’s West Palm Beach North Shore team in the Class 3A state championship game.
“I’m very proud of just the whole team,” said Astronaut coach Kyle Gilreath, whose team finishes the season 26-4. “We did something that hasn’t been done in 40 years at this school.
“I told them, don’t remember the score, just remember the experience,” Gilreath said. “There are players and coach who have never been here. I’m just very proud of our team and the way we’ve put Astronaut on the map.”
Astronaut stayed close through the first quarter into the early second before Pine Crest put together a 10-0 run to take a 26-13 lead with four minutes left in the half, a lead that was never challenged the rest of the way.
“The only reason we didn’t start the way we normally start was nerves,” Smith said. “We were trying to do a little too much. The second quarter, we just calmed down and started playing our game, and that’s defense. Once we got a couple of run-outs, a couple of steals, we had control of the game after that.”
Pine Crest kept its 13-point lead at halftime, 33-20, with the Thompson twins combining for 23 of the Panthers’ points.
“Our defense was unbalanced the whole second quarter,” Gilreath said. “We had turnovers for no reason. They go on a run and we’re down 12 for no reason and it’s our fault. Our offense just never got flowing.
On the other end, Pine Crest’s defense contained Astronaut’s Jace Carter, the team’s leading scorer with a 24.5 point-per-game average, limiting him to just five points.
Carter did find the range a little more in the second half, finishing with 22 points.
“It was just some nerves, playing in the big arena,” Carter said. “Once I got set, I felt more comfortable.”
ASTRONAUT (47) – Jace Carter 7-14 3-5 22, Tony Caito 0-1 0-3 0, Joshua Ruiz 2-4 0-0 5, Tyrese Bell 2-5 2-2 6, Jacroy Waddell 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony Sanders 0-0 0-0 0, Victor Zidor 1-3 1-2 3, Rhameer Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Jaylen Avelar 1-1 0-0 2, Cody Garcia 0-0 0-0 0, Kyle SmitH 2-10 3-5 9, Evan Pavick 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Mullins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-38 9-17 47
PINE CREST (68) – Ausar Thompson 12-16 2-2 27, Amen Thompson 8-16 2-7 18, Isaiah Ramsay 1-3 0-0 3, Leo Ghiloni 4-7 0-0 8, Ben Brodsky 1-3 1-2 3, Joseph Teich 0-0 0-0 0, Eruos Carpio 2-8 5-5 9, Frankie Vassalluzzo 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Pion 0-0 0-0 0, Christian Durall 0-0 0-0 0, Luke Fatovic 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-53 10-16 68
Astronaut 11 9 11 16 -- 47
Pine Crest 14 19 19 16 -- 68
FG%: Astronaut .395, Pine Crest .528. 3-pt FG:Astronaut 8-19 (Carter 5-8, Ruiz 1-2, Bell 0-3, SmitH 2-6), Pine Crest 2-10 (Thompson 1-2, Thompson 0-3, Ramsay 1-2, Brodsky 0-2, Carpio 0-1). Rebounds: Astronaut 27 (SmitH 9), Pine Crest 25 (Carpio 8). Fouls Astronaut 14, Pine Crest 19. Fouled out: none. Technical: none. Assists: Astronaut 8 (Ruiz 3), Pine Crest 18 (Thompson 8). Steals: Astronaut 7 (Bell 2), Pine Crest 13 (Thompson 7). Blocked shots: Astronaut 2 (SmitH 2), Pine Crest 3 (Thompson 1, Thompson 1, Carpio 1). Turnovers: Astronaut 20, Pine Crest 12.