The Stranahan gym walls are about to get a little more crowded. The school has to make space for a new banner.
For the first time in the school’s 62-year history, the Mighty Dragons are state boys basketball champions.
“I’m from Fort Lauderdale,” Stranahan senior Jordan Greene said. “So to do this for my city and to bring back something [for a school where] my dad went to and played basketball, and he feels great … it just feels great for the community.”
Stranahan’s historic 63-54 victory in the Class 6A state basketball title came in a closely fought affair against St. Petersburg Lakewood at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland on Thursday.
“I cried my lungs out,” junior Dave Herard said. “All this hard work just made me break down. I just can’t believe it. We did it.”
The Mighty Dragons’ victory ended a day when three Broward County teams — Westminster Academy, University School and Stranahan — lifted championship trophies.
Stranahan started slowly but recovered and took the lead at the end of the first quarter. The Mighty Dragons nearly went into the locker room at halftime with a 10-point lead, but a three-shot foul cut it to seven.
The Mighty Dragons held the lead for most of the second half, but the Spartans, led by senior Jalen White and his 18 points, got back within two in the middle of the final quarter.
Stranahan benefited from a balanced offense, with four players getting double-digit points. Brian Dugazon led the Mighty Dragons with 14, Herard had 13, Inady Legiste had 12 and Chayse Culpepper had 10. Daquion Vickers ended with nine points but recorded a team-best 11 rebounds.
Stranahan went on a 13-7 run to end the game, which provided enough of a cushion to allow coach Terrence Williams, himself a Stranahan alumnus, to sub his starters out to end the game.
“I was crying when there were 30 seconds left, when we were up seven,” Herard said. “I knew we had it. And I’m so glad.”
Williams said the season was dedicated to Stranahan’s former coach Keith Skinner, who died in late 2017.
“The one person I thought about when the seconds started going away was coach Skinner,” Williams said. “He would’ve loved to see this moment. As a coach, he’d been there for 30 years, and he coached me at Stranahan. I know this is one of the biggest moments that he was looking forward to. For us to get it while he’s gone is kind of bittersweet.
“But we finally did it.”
alichtenstein@sun-sentinel.com