By Marshall Tempest
Apopka Chief Staff
It’s on to the regional final after the Apopka Blue Darter basketball team defeated the Winter Park Wildcats 50-39 in the FHSAA 7A Boys Basketball State Tournament Regional Semifinals on Monday, Feb. 17. The Blue Darters will now host the regional final at home against Seminole High School at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 20.
“I’m just so incredibly proud of these kids. Our staff and players really put in a great effort tonight against a very strong basketball team,” said Scott Williams, head coach of the boys basketball team, after the win. Williams mentioned that the team and his staff were well-prepared and executed their game plan at a high level.
Williams said he felt somewhat speechless when struggling to find the right words, as he was still overwhelmed by not only beating Winter Park and advancing to the regional final of the state tournament but also learning as he exited the locker room that Seminole had defeated Creekside in the other side of our region’s bracket—meaning Apopka would now be hosting the FHSAA 7A Region 1 Finals.
The First Half
The final score of 50-39 did not reflect how close the two teams played for most of the game. The teams combined to score only 33 in the first half, with the Blue Darters leading 19-14 at halftime. Apopka’s brand of pressure and physicality, matched against Winter Park’s 1-3-1 zone, which is designed to create turnovers, was a true spectacle at the state tournament’s regional final level.
The first quarter was exactly what Apopka and coach Williams expected: a battle. Williams told me after the win, “I thought it was going to be first to 40 (points) wins. It’s just the way they play.” Winter Park’s defense was on it from the tipoff and kind of took Apopka by surprise in the first possessions, but once the Blue Darters got settled, they were right back to work.
Apopka’s Jahi Bowden led that charge, who has been a huge player for the Blue Darters all year and is a menace to guards and forwards alike on both sides of the court. Bowden led the offense as a primary ball handler on many possessions, trying to prod and manipulate the Wildcats’ zone defense, getting himself nice spots to grab points from midrange. But he also terrorized the ball handlers and forwards on the defensive end, often guarding out of his position, as Williams told me, and this game was no exception.
“Early on, he (Bowden) was huge because we had a hard time cracking the nut and getting started. He is capable of these kinds of performances. As I mentioned, he was instrumental; if he hadn’t played well early, we might’ve been in a little bit of trouble. He’s a remarkable young man, and he played exceptionally well tonight,” Williams said after the game.
At the end of the first quarter, the Blue Darters led 11-9. In the second quarter, not much changed, as both teams became increasingly physical with their pressure and defense as the game progressed. Apopka came out on top, allowing the Wildcats to score just five points in eight minutes, leading to a 19-14 advantage at halftime.
The Second Half
Williams said this about his defensive game plan after the win. “We tried to do some things just to be a little disruptive; I thought it worked, especially in the first half. In the second half, they kind of came up with a better plan for it, and we had to be more careful. But because we never really let them settle in in the offensive end, we didn’t really have to try to speed them up or be ultra-aggressive, and that makes all the difference in the world.”
Williams mentioned that Winter Park makes you play the game at a much slower pace and that he and the team anticipated this challenge. He compared it to their season opener against Winter Park, where the Blue Darters lost 57-42 in November 2024. He noted that on the night of the win, the boys were emotionally ready for a more patient game than they are accustomed to.
The Blue Darters emerged from the locker room fired up, going on an 11-6 run to start the second half and leading 30-20 with 3:40 left in the third quarter. Although they initially dominated the momentum, Apopka cooled off against the now-desperate Wildcats defense, which began to smother Apopka’s ball handlers at the end of the third quarter as the grim reality of losing drew closer.
Apopka closed out the third quarter up 32-22. But in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats turned it up to 11, forcing many more turnovers than the Blue Darters wanted as they slowly chipped away at the Apopka lead. Apopka’s offensive mistakes had been few and far between in the first three quarters, but with Winter Park now minutes away from going home with a loss, they were going all out.
The Blue Darters held the lead 37-30 with 4:42 left in the game. They faced the Wildcats, who were beginning to build momentum like a snowball. But Bowden saved the day in the fourth quarter, as he had been doing all night: forcing turnovers, owning the glass, and finding open shots for himself and his teammates.
Winter Park didn’t quit until the final possession and made several significant shots to narrow Apopka’s lead, but they ultimately fell short. After a handful of trips to the foul line in the final minutes, as both teams went into bonus, Apopka secured the win 50-39.
Williams talked to me briefly about Apopka’s approach in the second half. “We had played an outstanding first half but we were going to have to be really good on the defensive end of the floor and continue to work together and get each other looks offensively in the second half. And we did. We came right out in the third quarter and were really sharp offensively.”
Williams said that many people have said the team just shot the ball well during this and previous wins. Still, he maintained that the Blue Darters have progressively created better shots for themselves all season. He said a part of the reason the team is shooting better is that they can make better looks for themselves and their teammates.
“I thought we got some really good looks, and our guys confidently shot the ball. And, once again, does it help being at home? Sure! We earned the right to do it! Just like on Thursday (February 20), we’ve earned the right to be at home. And if that helps us make a few more shots, then we’ll take it.
The 2025 FHSAA Class 7A Boys Basketball State tournament Region 1 Final
Apopka is now just one win away from reaching the Final Four of the 2025 FHSAA 7A Boys Basketball State Tournament, where, if they win, they will join the regional final champions from the other three regions in Florida in Lakeland for the final two rounds of the state tournament.
Williams left me with the team’s mentality going into the final stretch of the state tournament before going off to work on a game plan for Seminole right after the win over Winter Park.
“We talked about this journey having five steps. I told the boys, ‘When we hit the end of the regular season, we have five steps to get to the Final Four.’ So we have one more step on Thursday (February 20), and if we make that step, we will be in the Final Four. And then we have two weeks to prepare for whatever lies ahead. It would be a wonderful blessing to try and figure out what you do with your team for two weeks to prepare for the Final Four because that’s a unique thing based on the scheduling this year.”
