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Melbourne - Florida Air Academy's No. 1 ranked boys' basketball team took an important step toward repeating as state champions when it thrashed visiting Lake Placid 90-29 in the 3A regional quarterfinals Thursday. Following the opening tip, the Falcons (22-1) raced out to a 10-0 lead in front of an enthusiastic home crowd at Melbourne Central Catholic's "Bee Hive" and remained in cruise control throughout the contest. Junior guard Jerome Burgos led all scorers with 14 points and kept the Lake Placid defense off balance with his precision passing, including a no-looker to teammate Markus-Alan Agee for a rim-rattling dunk that brought the crowd to its feet in the first quarter. Prior to the quarterfinal matchup, Burgos had been injured and out of the lineup since Christmas. Florida Air coach Aubin Goporo was especially pleased with his leader's performance. "Jerome really impressed me coming back from the injury," he said. "He passed the ball well and was firmly in charge." FAA had a commanding 48-18 lead at halftime, wearing down the Green Dragons with and opportunistic defense that forced several turnovers, and an offense, under the direction of Burgos and junior guard Carlos Parra, that controlled the ball. With the score 56-21 early in the third quarter, the Falcons increased the lead to 35 points and clock-stoppage was discontinued in accordance with Florida High School Athletics Association regulations. "We look OK, but we need to work on rebounding and team chemistry and get a whole lot better on defense," said Goporo. |