EAGLES UPSET IN DISTRICT SEMIS, 51-41

South Dade, the number three seed in the district 16-7A tournament upset second-seeded Southwest, 51-41, Wednesday in a semifinal game. The Eagles (14-8), who were averaging 62 points per game coming in, were ice cold after the first quarter against a team they beat, 71-56, on December 2. The Buccaneers (13-8) trailed 16-14 after one quarter before holding Southwest to two field goals in the second quarter and three in the third quarter to take a 42-31 lead into the final period. The Eagles scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to pull within four points but only scored three points over the final six minutes. Carlos Taveras had 22 points, five assists and three steals. Jaycee Ruiz pulled down ten rebounds. The loss will likely end the season for Southwest. Eight teams advance to the regionals, the champions of districts 13, 14, 15 and 16 plus the next four highest rated teams in the MaxPreps rankings. The Eagles were ranked eighth in the region entering the district tournament but are expected to drop after losing to a lower-seeded team. The final rankings will be released Saturday.
The scoring:
Carlos Taveras 22
Ray Perez 8
Josnel Aloma 7
Joshua Fernandez 3
Sean Perez 1