Gainesville v. Vanguard: A Barnburner for a Championship

(Vanguard and their traveling crowd celebrates a seven-point win in the District Championship game against the Gainesville Hurricanes on Friday, February 10, 2017 at Gainesville's "Purple Palace".)

Friday night’s game between the Gainesville Hurricanes and Vanguard High was one that Knights fans have waited a long time for. Vanguard was searching for its first district title in 14 years, as well as its first win at the Purple Palace in 11 years. With a 64-57 overtime win, Vanguard ended the drought as champions.

The game started off as a defensive dogfight. Vanguard led 8-2 after quarter one due to their ability to crash the offensive glass and convert second chance points. However, the home crowd was into it early and did not let up until the final whistle. They helped the ‘Canes stay in the game, even though they had trouble knocking down shots in the first quarter.

Vanguard Head Coach Phillip Small spoke before the game about his team being mentally ready.

“We have been watching film, and correcting our mistakes, and we know this will be a long game,” Small said. “Our guys are mature enough to understand what to do.”

With six minutes to play in the second, a Vanguard three-pointer put the Knights up, 11-2. It looked like the Knights were ready to run over their opponent. Only three minutes later in the quarter, they found their lead slimmed down to just one. Gainesville junior Christian Miller-Cardwell gave his team the lead after hitting three consecutive shots to put the Hurricanes up, 17-14.

Unfortunately for GHS, the lead did not last long.

The Hurricanes had a hard time defending Vanguard seniors Quez Clayton and Devontae Bynes. The tandem helped the Knights to a nine-point halftime lead. Clayton was either knocking down shots, finding open teammates, or being vocal out on the court to help his side stay focused. The smooth, long range shooting by Bynes made it difficult for GHS to consistently get stops when they needed them the most.

Vanguard found its shooting touch once again to start the third and resumed being in control. The crowd at the Purple Palace stayed active, loud and willed their team back into the game. Isaiah Wilson of GHS refused to be denied and kept his team hanging around.

In the last quarter, the mayhem started.

The final two minutes of the fourth quarter were drama-filled. A technical foul called on Vanguard freshman Leonard Manuel resulted in an ejection. This led to four straight points at the free-throw line for Gainesville. The ‘Canes led by one with 1:28 to play.

Four consecutive Vanguard points gave the Knights a three-point lead with less than a minute to go. The two teams traded baskets until Vanguard led by three with eleven seconds remaining.

After Miller-Cardwell missed his initial attempt at a game-tying three, an offensive rebound and kick-out gave C.M.C. a second chance to send the game to overtime.

This time, he did not miss.

The Purple Palace was sent into frenzy as the game needed an extra five minutes to decide a winner.

Overtime saw Devontae Bynes hit multiple shots for Vanguard, including a gut-wrenching three-pointer to put the Knights up nine with just sixty seconds left. From there, GHS began to foul and Vanguard escaped the Purple Palace with the seven-point win—one that was well worth the 11-year wait.

Bynes spoke after the game about the emotional win.

“We were tired of walking away out this gym never winning. All the hard fought games always seemed to go in their favor. It feels great we accomplished this, but importantly its great we did it together as strong team,” Bynes said.

This wasn’t your average Friday night high school district tournament game. It’s the game you wish you’d been in attendance for.

NEXT GAMES - REGIONAL QUARTERFINALS

Gainesville at Englewood, Thursday, 2/16 7 pm.

St. Augustine at Vanguard, Thursday, 2/16 7 pm.