MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the
Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.) Pioneers have officially been named to the 13th Annual MaxPreps Basketball Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its 12th year honoring boys basketball.
This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for 100 of the top teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the MaxPreps National Rankings. For basketball, only 20 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 40,000 competing varsity teams, this puts the Pioneers ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!
In order to be eligible, the team not only had to be nationally ranked, but also had to win a state championship. Beating Wellington 71-60 on Saturday, Mar. 10 in the
FHSAA Class 9A state championship contest marked the completion of an incredible 30-4 season — and earned Oak Ridge an invitation to the Tour of Champions.
With Emmitt Williams and Antwann Jones sitting on the bench for much of the title game, Oak Ridge's Robin Perry scored from all over the court to carry the Pioneers to their first boys state basketball title with a 71-60 win over Wellington at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland, Florida. Perry ripped the cords for 32 points, allowing Oak Ridge to weather any run Wellington threw at the Pioneers.
Damon Harge scored in the paint to push Oak Ridge to a 17-6 first quarter advantage and the Pioneers never trailed in the championship game. Oak Ridge eventually settled for a 17-10 advantage at the end of the opening quarter, led 39-28 at intermission and took a 48-42 advantage into the final eight minutes of play before pulling away. After the runners-up cut the deficit to 51-47 early in the final period, Perry capped a 12-4 Oak Ridge run with a put back for a 63-51 Pioneer advantage with 2:15 left. Wellington could get no closer than seven.
Of course, Perry scored the 32 points, but he also had eight rebounds, an assist and four steals. Williams, an LSU recruit, poured in eight points, four rebounds, two blocked shots and had a steal in just short of 15 minutes of action, while Kaleb Coleman, Harge and Niven Glover scored six points each. Jones was credited with two points, four rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot in less than 10 minutes of playing time.
Oak Ridge opened postseason play with an 88-53 win over Riverview. Then, following a 79-46 triumph over Dr. Phillips, the Pioneers kicked in the door to the Final Four with a 57-54 victory over Osceola. Oak Ridge bumped West Orange from state championship contention with an 86-64 semifinal win to set up the championship bout with Wellington.
Steve Reece's club opened the season with a 79-51 win over Timber Creek. Then, following a 64-52 triumph over Colonial, Oak Ridge knocked off Jones 64-39 to open the season 3-0. The Pioneers upended Orlando Christian Prep and Olympia before dropping an 86-67 decision to DeMatha (Hyattsville, MD). Oak Ridge won 25 of its final 28 contests and outscored the competition 75.7-58.1 per outing. The Pioneers held 18 foes under 60 points, while scoring over 80 points 13 times themselves. Oak Ridge reached 100 points three times, including a season-high 104 points in a win over Freedom.
Having won eight straight contests to conclude the season, Oak Ridge set itself up for some rather high rankings come season's end. Not only are the Pioneers the No. 1 team in
MaxPreps' Florida Class 9A Rankings, Oak Ridge is the fourth best squad in all of
Florida. Reece's club is ranked No. 33 in
MaxPreps' National Rankings and played its way into the
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Writers' Poll at No. 13!
These incredible season achievements have earned the Oak Ridge Pioneers an invitation to the 13th Annual Tour of Champions. Please join us in the gymnasium for a pep rally as we celebrate with the boys basketball team, coaching staff, students and fans on Tuesday, May 8 at 1:15 p.m.
For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the
MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.
