The Apopka boys basketball team opened its season Wednesday night against the West Orange Warriors, who had already started their season 0-1. Behind an explosive third quarter on both ends of the court, the Blue Darters rallied for a 56-45 road victory. 

Coach Scott Williams said the key to beating the Warriors was following his team’s identity and being disruptive on defense early.  

“We needed to be disruptive on defense, and we were,” Williams said. “I reiterated that to them at the break, and they brought it. I felt like we had to expend a lot of energy defensively, but I thought we maintained that, then got ourselves a 10-point cushion… We really finished well.” 

In the first quarter, Rafi Betancourt opened up the scoring from mid-range, but West Orange got going from 3-point range, sinking two from downtown. The Blue Darters stayed in it and finished up the quarter down 12-11. 

The next frame opened at a fast pace. After a 3-pointer from the Warriors, the Blue Darters went on a run. They found a 19-15 lead behind back-to-back 3-point bombs from Noah Ferrer. But West Orange’s Naim Rogers answered, adding three points to his total of 7. 

Jarquavion McClain, who led Apopka with 14 points, drove in for a layup to close the half with a tie game, 23-23. 

“Jarquavion was tremendous tonight” Williams said. “We’ve been waiting for him to kind of do the things we knew he could do. He just played fantastic.” 

Rogers opened the second half with a deep 3 for the Warriors, but Apopka immediately countered. Trent Jean pushed the pace and found Ferrer on the wing for his third triple of the night, sparking an 8-0 run. Moments later, Zee Davis jumped a passing lane and finished a transition layup, forcing West Orange into a timeout as the Blue Darters surged ahead 31-26 with 3:40 left in the third. 

Fresh off the bench, junior Alex Cogdon provided an immediate spark, muscling in a tough finish at the rim before drilling a corner 3 to give the Blue Darters their first double-digit lead of the game. Their scrappy defense continued to frustrate the Warriors, forcing hurried shots and turnovers that helped Apopka close the quarter ahead, 38-30. 

At the third break, Williams urged his team to press even harder with “more suffocating defense,” knowing the Warriors were wearing down. 

West Orange tried to claw back, opening the fourth with a short flurry of points to tighten it. Sophomore Jaques Evariste, who gave Apopka crucial minutes off the bench, powered in a putback to halt the Warriors’ momentum, extending the lead to 42-36.  

The Darters’ full-court press swallowed West Orange’s ballhandlers. Ferrer jumped a pass, pushed the ball ahead and zipped a cross-court feed to Betancourt for a corner 3 that put Apopka up 48-39 with 3:43 remaining. 

“You can’t let the score breathe,” Williams told his team during the forced timeout. “You gotta grab it by a stranglehold, don’t let it go!”  

The Warriors kept swinging, landing a couple of late baskets to bring it within five points but Apopka always found an answer. West Orange was forced to foul into the double bonus, and McClain calmly sank both free throws to widen the gap with under a minute left. 

Xavier Bell then delivered the knockout blow. After forcing another turnover at midcourt, Apopka broke the press with crisp passing that led to McClain dishing to a cutting Bell for the final bucket of the night, sealing the 56-45 win. 

McClain led Apopka and fueled the late surge that put the game away. Ferrer added 13 points, three rebounds, four assists and a steal. Evariste gave Apopka a strong second-half lift with five points, four rebounds and a block, while Jean finished with eight points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals in a steady performance at point guard. 

The Blue Darters open the season 1-0 and showed the type of defensive identity Williams has been preaching. They host the Winter Park Wildcats in their first home game of the season at 7:30 p.m. Friday, in the Apopka High School Gymnasium.