The Blue Darters used a dominant second half and relentless defensive pressure to overwhelm Lake Minneola 79-36 on Friday night, honoring seven basketball seniors in their final regular season home game before the playoffs. 

After spotlighting Rafi Betancourt, Jarquavion McClain, Trent Jean, Zee Davis, Noah Ferrer, Xavier Bell and Matthew Murray, the game began slower than expected. Lake Minneola struck first with a basket in the paint, but Ferrer opened his senior night with a 3-pointer to put Apopka on the board. The Hawks continued to find openings early, mixing inside finishes with perimeter shots to jump out to a 16-9 lead after one quarter. 

Apopka’s response came quickly in the second. 

Ferrer ignited the turnaround with energy on both ends of the floor. After hitting another 3, he scored inside, then immediately stole a pass and finished at the rim. Moments later, he pump-faked from deep and dished to McClain for a layup before picking off another pass. He drove and converted again to give Apopka the lead. 

“Once we got into the second quarter, we all showed up and played together,” Ferrer said. “We got a lot of steals, turnovers, made them pay and finished at the basket.” 

Trent Jean added to the momentum with a steal and fast-break layup that forced a Lake Minneola timeout. Out of the break, Jean found Xavier Freeman in the corner for a trey, and the Blue Darters’ defense began to suffocate the Hawks with well-timed traps and quick rotations. 

Jaden Andino buried a 3 off the bench, and Jean located Bell on the wing for another deep shot — his fifth assist of the half — as Apopka closed the second quarter on a surge to take a 33-23 lead into halftime. 

Ferrer opened the third by stealing the inbound pass and feeding McClain for a basket. McClain scored again moments later, then finished another cut to the rim after Jean forced a turnover. Lake Minneola called timeout as Apopka’s lead ballooned. 

Fresh out of the break, Jacques Evariste delivered a huge block at the rim and followed it with three clean free throws on the other end. Jean went to work offensively, hitting a floater and a tough turnaround jumper in the paint before finding Zee Davis in the corner for 3. 

Davis drained another triple, Andino followed with one of his own, and the Blue Darters poured in 26 points in the third quarter to take a commanding 59-32 advantage. 

The fourth quarter became a senior night celebration. 

Evariste scored off an offensive rebound, Bell knocked down a moving mid-range jumper, and McClain added two more points to cap his night. Bell finished the scoring with a tough and-one as Apopka closed out the 43-point victory. 

In Apopka’s highest scoring game of the season, Ferrer led the balanced attack with 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and six steals. McClain added 12 points and five rebounds. Jean controlled the game with six points, eight assists and three steals, while Bell finished with nine and Davis chipped in eight. 

“It felt great,” Ferrer said. “I’m just trying to take it into playoffs, next game at a time. We always say here, next play, go on to the next game.” 

For Jean, senior night brought mixed emotions. 

“It felt great to win, but at the same time it’s kind of sad because it was my last regular season game here,” he said. “From here, every day has got to be a dogfight in practice. Now that it’s playoffs, we’ve got to up it to 200 percent every day.” 

Head coach Scott Williams credited the seniors for setting the tone after a sluggish start. 

“Noah totally affected the game at the start of the second quarter,” Williams said. “He dominated for about three or four minutes. We’ve got seven wonderful seniors, wonderful young men. How everybody cares on a senior night is a culture thing, and I’m really proud of them for that.” 

Williams said the focus now shifts fully to postseason basketball. 

“The program’s mentality is next play,” he said. “That’s what we live by. We’re going to come in tomorrow and practice and get better. Our guys are grounded. We’ve handled success and adversity fairly well, and it’s not going to change now.” 

With the win, Apopka improves to 14-10 and closes the regular season 7 p.m. Friday at Kathleen. The Blue Darters have secured the No. 2 seed in the district tournament and will face East Ridge in next week’s semifinal.