Senior Mazih Chehade scored a game-high 27 points, including 8 points in overtime to rally host Monarch to its first regional boys basketball victory in the school’s 17-year history with a 70-63 win over Santaluces on Thursday night.
“We just keep making history,” Chehade said. “We trust coach [Lorenzo Williams] to put us in the right places and we just do what we have to do. We just believed and I believe we can go all of the way.”
“This whole thing has been a process,” said Williams, who in his first year led the team to a 13-7 record. “In this year of COVID, I just wanted to give these kids something bright. It has been a magical run and hopefully we keep it going.”
While Chehade was the leading scorer for the 13-3 Knights, winner of five straight games, it was senior Vincent Cardelli who also was the king of overtime with eight points of his own, nailing two 3-pointers and a registering a key block to preserve a 59-54 lead with 1:31 left.
Cardelli opened the overtime period with a 3-pointer and hit a short jumper to put the Knights up for good. After losing its first two games of the season, Monarch has won 10 of its past 11. They will host the winner of the Coral Springs on Tuesday.
“It was a hard overtime, and we made some clutch shots,” Cardelli said. “Everyone had to come through. It wasn’t just one person. I could not have done it without my teammates.”
Visiting Santaluces broke open a tight game in the second quarter as they went 9 of 11 from the charity stripe to take a 31-22 halftime lead. The Chiefs led by as many as 11 points at 31-20 following a 3-play play by Jonathan Dor with 20.1 seconds left in the half.
Monarch’s Kellen Cashman scored on a driving layup with six seconds remaining to cut the lead to single digits.
Monarch, which won its first district title in school history, held a 9-8 advantage after the first quarter on a 3-pointer by Cardelli with 1:21 remaining in the period. He finished with 17 points, including four 3-pointers.
Santaluces (12-4) outscored Monarch 23-13 in the second quarter to take early command of the game, however Monarch kept chipping away, eventually taking its first lead of the game at 48-47 with 4:36 left in regulation on a free throw by Marcus Lanaut.
The Knights extended the lead to 52-47 on a basket by Cody Dinnall with 3:18 left before Santaluces went on a 7-0 run to grab a 54-52 lead with 58.4 seconds remaining on a driving layup by Justine Roseme.
Christian Henriques knotted the game for Monarch at 54-54 with 21.3 seconds remaining, and after a Santaluces timeout, Roseme missed a 20-footer off the rim that would have won it. Roseme and Roshny Estime each had 16 points, while Josh Cange added 13 in a losing effort.
Monarch never trailed in the overtime and outscored Santaluces 16-9 to close out the game. Chehade was 6 for 6 from the foul line in the final two minutes of the extra period. Kellen Cashman also chipped in with 11 points for the Knights.
Santaluces coach Reggie Dixon said basketball is a game of runs and both team went on runs during the contest. The Chiefs fell in the regional quarterfinals for the second straight year.
“They just had the final run,” said Dixon, whose team dropped its third straight game. “We just didn’t get the key rebounds or the stops at the end when we needed it, or even hit big shots when we needed it and they did all of that and above. They deserved it. They beat us in all facets tonight.”
Thursday
Regional quarterfinals
7A
Monarch 70, Santaluces 63 OT
Western 68, Everglades 41
Miramar 53, Cypress Bay 52
Wellington 57, Vero Beach 49
Dwyer 68, Forest Hill 63
Coral Springs 54, Lake Worth 53
6A
Dillard 66, Olympic Heights 58
Martin County 53, St. Thomas Aquinas 32
Mater Academy 55, McArthur 51
5A
Boyd Anderson 59, Suncoast 51
Pembroke Pines Charter 69, Jensen Beach 42
4A
Pine Crest 82, Hallandale 51
North Broward Prep 64, Somerset Academy 40
Discovery 57, Glades Central 31
3A
Chaminade-Madonna 71, SLAM 52
Miami Country Day 81, Somerset Academy 29
St. Andrew’s 63, Westminster Academy 56
Calvary Christian 78, Jupiter Christian 63
2A
Atlantic Christian 52, Highlands Christian 49
Miami Christian 65, Sheridan Hills Christian 45
Grandview Prep 71, Berean Christian 48
Regional semifinals
Tuesday
7A
Wellington at Dwyer
Coral Springs at Monarch
Western at Miramar
6A
Martin County at Dillard
5A
Boyd Anderson at Pembroke Pines Charter
4A
North Broward Prep at Pine Crest
3A
St. Andrew’s at Calvary Christian
Chaminade-Madonna at Miami Country Day
2A
Atlantic Christian at Grandview Prep
