Dubbed the Broward vs Dade Challenge, the Doral Academy Firebirds cruised past the American Heritage Patriots 75-41 at Chaminade-Madonna High School.
For Doral, the win capped an undefeated regular season (25-0) and the Firebirds 46th consecutive victory. As the reigning Class 7A state champions, the Firebirds last defeat came in December of 2017 to Sports Leadership and Management (SLAM) Academy of Miami.
Junior guard Devin Carter, son of 13-year NBA veteran Anthony Carter, outscored the Patriots by himself with 42 points. Carter has drawn interest from a number of schools including Miami, Kansas, and Colorado. He currently holds an offer from Florida International University. Carter and teammate Jonathan Nunez hit five 3-pointers apiece with Nunez finishing with 17 points.
“I am happy for our kids, we worked extremely hard,” said head coach Jorge Fernandez, former University of Miami assistant. “To go undefeated is a tribute to them. We push them hard with our coaching staff. We get after them but they allow us too. They are committed and don’t have a problem working.”
AROD Classic Champions! So proud of my guys. Tough win tonight against a really good team “The Rock”! Great start to the season. Currently 7 – 0! Really like this team. They hold each other accountable and are very coachable! pic.twitter.com/tCXqES0x6U
— Jorge Fernandez (@Jfhatters21) December 9, 2018
“It obviously helps to have two great players in Devin Carter and Jonathan Nunez, but our supporting cast is really doing a great job too,” Fernandez said. “Devin was unbelievable tonight; he has been like that the whole year. To be honest, if there is a better player in south Florida, I want to see him. I know you got the Carey kid and the Barnes kid, but he is up there. His name needs to be mentioned with all those guys.”
The Firebirds took control early, jumping out to a 21-4 lead after one quarter. Doral Academy hit five of its 12 3-pointers in the opening eight minutes. Patriot senior Masai Olowokere was limited due to foul trouble and sat for much of the first half. Coming off a 25-point performance against Palmer Trinity, Olowokere scored just seven on the night.
The second quarter proved more of the same with the Firebirds flirting with a mandatory running clock by halftime. Doral Academy took a 44-13 lead at the break.
American Heritage showed some fight in the third, scoring 20 of its 41 points in the quarter. Without Zaire Wade again, junior guards Andrew Volmar and Dahveon Morris finished with 17 and 11 points respectively.
While Carter showed off his shooting from long range, it was not his only weapon. The 6-foot-3 guard skied for an offensive rebound from the block in the fourth quarter for his final bucket on a 3-point play. Soon after, Carter would exit the game with the running clock and outcome well in-hand.
“Going undefeated is a big accomplishment for our school,” said Carter. “A lot of people who are graduating this year get to experience something they haven’t done before. It is great for the whole team. We run everything out of plays so our coach always looks out for us as players and tries to get us the best shots we can get.”
Michael Costeines is a contributor for Mars Reel based in South Florida
