South Florida Local News

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Themus Fulks scored 24 points and made his only two foul shots of the night with three seconds left and UCF beat Utah 73-71 on Saturday night.

Jordan Burks added 14 points for UCF (19-7, 8-6 Big 12) which shot 53% (30 of 57) including 44% (7 of 16) from 3-point range. The Knights have won two straight following a three-game losing streak.

Terrence Brown scored 21 points, Don McHenry scored 19 points and Keanu Dawes 15 and grabbed 12 rebounds for Utah (10-17, 2-12).

McHenry tied it at 68-all with a 3-pointer with 56 seconds left before Burks countered with a 3 with 31 seconds remaining. On Utah’s next possession, Jamichael Stillwell fouled McHenry on a 3-point attempt who then went to the foul line and sank all three free throws with 13 seconds remaining.

UCF ran its record against Utah to 4-0.

It was the first time the Knights ever played Utah in Salt Lake City. Each previous matchup was either at home or neutral territory.

Before Saturday, the last matchup between the two was in the opening round of the Big 12 Championship last year when the Knights won 87-72.

No Big 12 team has missed the NCAA Tournament after finishing above .500 in conference play since 2009.

The Knights will stay in Utah and next face a tougher challenge in No. 23 BYU on Tuesday at 11 p.m.

By GREG BEACHAM

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lionel Messi and Inter Miami got off to a rough start in their MLS Cup title defense when David Martínez, Denis Bouanga and Nathan Ordaz scored in Los Angeles FC’s 3-0 victory Saturday night.

Son Heung-min set up Martínez’s opening goal for LAFC, which emphasized its status as a primary threat to Miami’s crown during a lively MLS season opener between two of the league’s marquee clubs.

The matchup drew 75,673 fans — the second-largest crowd in MLS history — to the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which is next-door to LAFC’s home BMO Stadium.

“This game would have sold out five times at BMO, but we wanted to do something special,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. “This is a seminal year in the history of our sport and a big moment in the history of our league, so why not go into this historic stadium, bring Miami here, our champion, and have them play against LAFC?”

The huge crowd got an entertaining match and a good look at Messi, who played despite dealing with a strained hamstring this month. His every move was greeted with cheers and boos by the California fans.

The superstar is still working out his dynamic with his new teammates, however: The Herons lost Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba to retirement and added forward Germán Berterame and elite MLS goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, whose positioning mistake greatly simplified Bouanga’s goal.

LAFC won for head coach Marc Dos Santos in his MLS debut as the third head coach in club history. The former Vancouver head coach and longtime LAFC assistant led his team to a 6-1 win over Real España earlier this week in its CONCACAF Champions Cup opener in Honduras.

LAFC went ahead in the 38th minute when Son controlled the ball in traffic and slotted a perfect pass to Martínez, who found the far bottom corner in stride. The 20-year-old Martínez has started his MLS career slowly, but LAFC remains confident the Venezuelan forward will be a star.

Bouanga had a hat trick in CONCACAF Champions Cup play earlier this week, and he added his first MLS goal of the season in the 73rd minute. The Frenchman, who finished second to Messi in the Golden Boot race last season, converted a long pass from Timothy Tillman, adroitly heading it over the charging St. Clair before banging it home.

LAFC added a third goal in second-half injury time when Ordaz converted a centering pass from Bouanga.

LAFC improved to 4-2-0 against Miami in the clubs’ history. LAFC also remained unbeaten in its season openers, improving to 9-0-0.

MIAMI — Observations and other notes of interest from Saturday night’s 136-120 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies:

– The benefit of this soft stretch of the schedule has been the ability to reformulate.

– Which seemingly was what Friday night in Atlanta and this one were about.

– Before the competition stiffens this coming week against the 76ers and then Rockets.

– So Heat coach Erik Spoelstra again went in emphasizing strength in numbers.

– “Look, I have a lot of positive feelings about our team and our depth,” he said. “We’ve used it all season long. You could feel the level of talent that we have on the roster.”

– With greater availability of depth, Spoelstra has had the optionality of subbing in four-man units.

– “It’s not far from what we typically do when we have everybody available,” he said, “but we’re just trying to maximize the talents in each unit, and that hopefully will help the consistency.”

– He said the approach is an attempt to get more evenhanded efforts.

– “We’ve had some great moments, as we’ve talked about,” he said. “We’ve blown the doors off of teams in first halves. We’ve struggled in third quarters. Sometimes I think that’s been some lineup things that we can shore up. Some of it also, we just have to be better.”

– He added, “I also know that there will be times we have to go deeper into the bench, and I feel very comfortable doing that.”

– Among those line shifts has been getting Tyler Herro and Kasparas Jakucionis together on the court.

– “Just without them spending a ton of time together, you can see how there can be a synergy,” Spoelstra said. “Kas is a playmaker. He plays with pace. He wants to get the ball ahead. He wants to get the ball to guys almost to a fault.”

– There wasn’t much Herro-Jakucionis in this one, with Davion Mitchell out.

– With Mitchell (illness) out, the Heat opened with Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Pelle Larsson, Norman Powell and Jakucionis, which had Herro again coming off the bench.

– It was Jakucionis’ ninth start.

– The tanking Grizzlies opened with the eclectic first five of Ty Jerome, Taylor Hendricks, Jaylen Wells, Walter Clayton Jr. and Jahmai Mashack.

– Kel’el Ware and Jaime Jaquez Jr. were first together off the Heat bench.

– Herro then followed.

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–  And then Dru Smith, who was back in the rotation after being held out Friday night in Atlanta.

– With a jolt of Myron Gardner again in the second period.

– So Simone Fontecchio again out of the rotation.

– With Nikola Jovic sidelined by back problems.

– With the Grizzlies clearly in tank mode following the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade, coach Tuomas Iisalo was left to have to answer pregame for his team’s approach.

– “Well, we’re trying to accomplish a lot,” he said. “The expectations have not changed. It doesn’t have anything to do with the roster we play. We still expect everybody to give max effort, max focus, play for the team and learn new things. And whether it’s a practice or a game, those things apply.”

– He added, “Also seeing the young guys in action and knowing what they can do. And they have a great opportunity, obviously, to play, but also for us to evaluate them going forward. And for us, the competitiveness is everything.”

– The game concluded the 14th of the Heat’s NBA-high 17 back-to-back sets this season.

– Herro extended his streak of games with at least 17 points to 23 games, dating to last season.

– The only other players in franchise history with such a streak at least as long were Dwyane Wade and LeBron James.

MIAMI – The last time an opponent arrived to Kaseya Center looking to lose, the Miami Heat denied them that privilege.

In that regard, consider Saturday night’s 136-120 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies a lesson learned.

Prioritizing improving their odds for the draft lottery, just as the Utah Jazz did in the Heat’s precious home game, the Grizzlies, stopped short of making the mistake of  winning.

So even with the Heat’s defense shaky for much of the night, Erik Spoelstra’s team got the victory it needed, the Grizzlies got the loss they wanted, and and the Heat’s Andrew Wiggins and Norman Powell got to feast on a buffet of high-percentage shots, with Wiggins scoring 28 and Powell 25.

Factor in 14 points, six assists and five rebounds from Tyler Herro in his second game back from a month off with a rib injury, and it hardly mattered that Bam Adebayo was limited to 13 points. The Heat also got 11 points and 15 rebounds from backup center Kel’el Ware.

“I like a lot what’s happening offensively the last two games,” Spoelstra said, “playing a real collective game, sharing the ball, being aggressive.”

The last time the Heat played at home, they lost to a Jazz team so set on tanking that Utah was fined $500,000 by the NBA even though they beat the Heat that night.

This time, the team trying to win won, and the team needing to lose lost.

About the only true emotion both ways on the night came in a late dustup between Heat guard Myron Gardner and the Grizzlies’ Scotty Pippen Jr., with both ejected with 1:55 to play.

“His greatest strength is this unbridled intensity and effort and energy,” Spoelstra said of Gardner. “His heart is in a great place, and he’s wired like us competitively. You add that type of intensity to this competitive will that will boil over at times.

“I don’t want to take away from that competitiveness. I just want to see where it is right now.”

Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday night’s game:

1. Game flow: The Heat led 39-33 after the first period and 73-68 at halftime, after going up 10 late in the second period.

Then, as so often is the case with tanking teams, the Grizzlies took their foot off the gas, with the Heat moving to a 20 lead early in the third before standing ahead 112-94 at the start of the fourth.

But with the Grizzlies trimming the deficit, Spoelstra in the fourth quarter was forced to go back to Powell, Wiggins and Adebayo, before finally being able to pull his starters with 2:29 to play.

“I think we’re really starting to buy into the collective effort and trust in one another and work in a game,” Powell said.

2. And another one: The Heat for the 10th consecutive game changed their starting lineup from the previous game, this time forced into a move with Davion Mitchell out due to illness.

That had rookie Kasparas Jakucionis with his ninth start of the season, opening in a lineup with Adebayo, Wiggins, Powell and Pelle Larsson.

“We just look like we have a lot more sustainable, consistent talent out there,” Spoelstra said. ” And the guys are complementing each other in the different lineups.”

3. Herro in reserve: That, in turn, had Tyler Herro off the bench for the second time in as many games back after missing 15 with a rib issue.

Herro played as the Heat’s third reserve, entering midway through the opening period and closing the quarter 3 of 3 from the field and 2 of 2 from line the, with two assists.

It again largely was a case of either Herro or Powell on the court, yet to be reestablished as a tandem. The two, though, did close the second period together, when the Heat moved to their largest lead to that stage.

Herro did struggle with his shooting, closing 5 of 15 from the field.

“I missed obviously a lot of time and a lot of time I was just sitting and  relaxing and letting my rib heal,” Herro said. “So it just feels good to be out here again. I woke up this morning like it was the first day of school again, to be able to play another game so like I’m just excited to be back out here.”

4. Powell sizzle: No, it was not the best of starts for Powell, who fouled on his initial 3-point shot and proceeded to miss all free throws.

Powell, who, like Mitchell, has been battling an illness, then came around with almost flawless offensive play, taking advantage of open driving lanes offered by the Grizzlies’ defense.

Powell closed 10 of 16 from the field, but just 2 of 7 from the line.

“I expect to make all my free throws, but sometimes it doesn’t happen,” he said. “But just staying even keeled, assessing the situation,  seeing how I can improve and get better, and then moving forward with that.”

5. Wiggins boost: With Herro and Powell in place to handle the leading offensive roles, Wiggins has shown considerable comfort as a complementary scorer, up to 19 points by intermission in this one.

Wiggins closed 9 of 10 from the field, including 4 of 4 on 3-pointers, as well as 6 of 6 from the line. His 21st point gave him 15,000 for his career.

‘”I knew nothing. I thought it was a timeout, just a regular timeout. I didn’t know until like 15K,” said Wiggins, who was surprised by his teammates’ celebration. “I was like, I didn’t know how much I had before this.”

General Daily Insight for February 22, 2026

There’s no need to be sharp with one another. Fiery Mars leaps into a supportive sextile to healing Chiron, encouraging us to make the first move in mending strained bonds of any type. This is furthered by the affectionate trine between fond Venus and lucky Jupiter at 3:01 pm EST, inviting us to give and receive appreciation in equal measure. Creative solutions could be necessary for any remaining tension, which means we’ve got permission to have fun with the process of figuring things out.

Aries

March 21 – April 19

What support would help you lead kindly? Cooperative energy fills your circles as action-oriented Mars moves through your 11th House of Friendship, sextiling therapeutic Chiron in your lively sign. If a group chat gets tense, name a simple need and invite others to share theirs. Thoughtfully directing conversations like that can help organize scattered energy. You might share a story from your experience to model courage while still leaving room for different opinions. Speak and lead deliberately to earn trust and respect.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

Today’s energy favors warm, steady connections. Your 11th House of Society lights up as loving Venus trines jovial Jupiter in your 3rd House of Nearby Connections, which files the rough edges off of potentially pointed comments. Consider reaching out to a neighbor or colleague and suggesting a get-together — something fun for everyone. If you join a team brainstorm, you can combine ideas to get the best parts of all of them. When in doubt, ask your community for advice. Shared knowledge is invaluable.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

Certain no-nonsense aspects of life could seem lighter today. In particular, with Venus in your prideful 10th house trining Jupiter in your financial 2nd house, you might feel less intimidated by money talks or professional debates. You may find great success pitching your ideas to a wider audience, especially if you focus on the ways everyone would benefit from your plans. Just make sure you have the numbers right! Once you do, it’ll be hard to go wrong. State your value and stick to it!

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

Following your whims is the perfect way to spend today. Curiosity widens your world as idealistic Venus moves through your 9th House of Philosophy, trining optimistic Jupiter in your thoughtful sign. This makes any adventures extra personal! Consider booking a day trip or signing up for a class, because fresh ideas nurture your confidence. If someone close states a belief you don’t share, ask a question that shows you care before jumping to conclusions. Say yes to learning, because it expands your heart beautifully.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

The universe is tossing you into the emotional deep end. Venus in your intense 8th house is enabling overbearing Jupiter in your secretive 12th house, so you may bear witness to knowledge about a sensitive subject. You could also end up on the other side of the table, so start thinking about the people you’d trust with discussions of money or other vulnerable topics. This isn’t a bad thing — you might even notice hidden worries softening as you name them aloud.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

Where can patience make work smoother? Your 6th House of Routine hums as ambitious Mars gets busy there, sextiling wounded healer Chiron in your 8th House of Sharing to support all sorts of pragmatic fixes. If chores pile up or a co-worker leaves tasks unfinished, define what needs to happen on your end before taking action. You shouldn’t have to do someone else’s work for them! Precision ensures you have energy for better work, so measure out your day with care.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

Sweetness is all around you right now! Your 5th House of Joy warms as passionate Mars moves through it, sextiling tender Chiron in your 7th House of Alliances and encouraging playful healing. Suggest a lighthearted date plan or propose a fun project to a collaborator. Set easy expectations in all relationships so balance stays intact. If a disagreement surfaces, state your point of view without blame (and be sure to let others share as well). Fairness invites cooperation and harmony for all.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

Today is brimming with joyful potential! You may crave the stage with this Venus-Jupiter trine, though you could be doing something less theatrical and more prose-based. Consider performing at an open mic or submitting a bold concept to a mentor, because courage grows as you share. If you don’t want to worry about quality, you can go out for karaoke with friends or bake something just for yourself. Trust your soul above all else for the time being — if it feels right, you’ll know.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

Honest words bring playful understanding today. Your 3rd House of Debate sparks against your upbeat 5th house during this Mars-Chiron trine. Any lies will come back to haunt you sooner rather than later. Pay attention to your words during your daily conversations (particularly those that involve children). Younger people could take your statements more literally than you’d like! When making suggestions, you may need to accept some small edits for the good of the team. Say what is true to invite blissful bonding.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

Words can build bridges — okay, not literal ones. Still, don’t discount the power of comforting or reprimanding statements, because both are necessary in their own ways. Gracious Venus is connecting with exuberant Jupiter, aligning your talkative 3rd house with your partner-oriented 7th house. They’re nudging you to check on someone who matters to ward off a weakened bond. If you need to negotiate terms, keep sentences clear and leave space for genuine questions. Direct statements lead to the sturdiest agreements.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

Your best pace at present may not be the one you’ve usually maintained. Impassioned Mars in your sign sextiles vulnerable Chiron in your 3rd House of Correspondence, nudging you to assert your needs. Go ahead and state your availability clearly — ideally in writing, so there’s no room for someone to push for more. Of course, that doesn’t mean they won’t try. You can offer a compromise that preserves your priorities and keeps the door open for adjustments (but you can also politely decline).

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

Almost anything is possible at this time! Venus is boosting your sign with maximum charm — plus, she trines joyous Jupiter in your 5th House of Ingenuity, lifting your confidence and inviting playful self-expression. This is the time to wear colors you adore and share your art with those who’ll most appreciate it. Fun is also highly encouraged. If possible, keep plans flexible so you have plenty of time to follow your heart. Show your true colors bravely, and they should attract meaningful connections.

By MIKE BARBER

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Chance Mallory drew a foul on a 3-point attempt with 3.6 seconds to play, and then sank all three free throws to lift No. 14 Virginia to an 86-83 win over Miami on Saturday.

Jacari White came off the bench to score 17 points, hitting five 3-pointers for the Cavaliers (24-3, 12-2 Atlantic Coast), who won their eighth straight.

Sam Lewis had 15 points, Thijs De Ridder scored 14, and Mallory had all 12 of his points in the second half.

Shelton Henderson and Tre Donaldson each scored 18 to lead Miami (21-6, 10-4), which saw its four-game win streak snapped. The Hurricanes out rebounded UVA 30-23 and outscored Virginia 18-2 on second-chance points.

The win kept the second-place Cavaliers ahead of third-place Miami in the conference standings and robbed the Hurricanes of a chance for a big Quad 1 victory.

UVA honored former coach Tony Bennett in a pregame ceremony, naming the court at John Paul Jones Arena after him. With a collection of his former players joining him on the court, Bennett watched as a logo of his signature was unveiled.

Miami jumped out to an early 11-point lead, but seven first-half 3-pointers kept UVA in the game. The Hurricanes scored the final eight points of the half and went to the locker room ahead 44-39.

The teams were tied at 59 with 11:33 to play. Mallory and De Ridder led the Cavaliers in opening up their largest lead of the game, 68-61 with 8:54 to go.

Miami fought back to set up a back-and-forth finish.

Malik Reneau’s layup at 7 seconds tied the game 83-83. Mallory took the inbounds pass and raced across the half-court line, elevating for a shot attempt and getting fouled.

 

The King’s Academy girls’ soccer team had to work overtime and then some in winning the first state soccer championship in school history at Lake Myrtle Sports Park in Auburndale.

King’s Academy sophomore Sabrina Callejas made three acrobatic saves and converted her own for good measure in the sudden-death penalty kick shootout as the Lions topped Miami Palmer Trinity 1-0 (5-4 PKs) on Wednesday to claim the 2A state title.

It marked the second straight day they had to go to PKs after the game wasn’t decided after 100 minutes of regulation and two overtimes.

As Lions coach Bri Mackrey hung the championship medal around her goalkeeper’s neck in the postgame awards ceremony, chants of “MVP, MVP” broke out from the crowd. Later in the celebration, it became official as Mackrey tossed the game ball to her. Of course, she caught it.

“I don’t really get nervous for PKs,” Callejas said. “I was just doing my part for the team. I read the shooter’s body language, so I know they are mostly going to kick to my right.

“Sabrina is insane,” said Mackrey, whose team finished a program-best 23-1.

This is her eighth season in charge and said the team overcame obstacles along the way, including a red card to Callejas after she used her hands outside the box in the regional semifinals. The Lions appealed, and Callejas was reinstated for the regional final. “She saved 5 PKs in the two days at states, and made some insane saves during the game to get us to PKs. She was on fire.”

Mackrey also cited her team’s win over Benjamin for the district title as the other key goal. The Lions only allowed seven goals all season, with Callejas earning her 18th clean sheet on Wednesday.

“This team hasn’t ever shown this much grit and perseverance in their life,” Mackrey said. “When I came in eight years ago, they were a little weak, and it’s great to see your hard work finally pay off. You really have to trust the process of building a team. Five of these players were starting as middle school players.”

Sophia Cueto converted the winning penalty kick. Callejas, Deionce Storey, Juliette Turner, and Lola Hathorne also scored.

“I felt the responsibility to finish the job after all of Sabrina’s saves,” Cueto said. “

Hathorne, an FAU commit, said the team had a ritual in their locker room with the No. 13 written on a paper towel signifying how many overall state championships the school would have if the girls prevailed.

“It was a long time coming,” Hathorne said. “This feels absolutely amazing. We wanted to be the 13th state championship the school had won. We had a motto that if you were able to walk, you could give it your all. We knew they won 8-0 the day before, and we had to go overtime. I kept telling my team to put their bodies on the line.”

Junior defender Mia Mackrey, also a key contributor in the win, said it was special to win for the school and to do it with her mom.

“We have both wanted it for so long and worked so hard for it,” Mia Mackrey said. “To win it with her is doubly rewarding. “It was pretty stressful to go to PKs on both days, but we knew Sabrina had our back. When the ref blew the whistle, it was ultimate bliss.”

The Lions, who started the year 15-0 before falling 1-0 to 7A regional finalist Wellington, closed the year winning its last eight games. It included the back-to-back penalty-kicks wins over perennial state champion Lakeland Christian and Palmer.

King’s Academy was on its heels early as Palmer (18-3-1) dominated the first 10 minutes, showing how they were able to mercy-rule Providence 8-0 in the state semifinal 8-0, but then King’s settled in.

Cardinal Gibbons sophomore defender Abigail Gillette (10) brings the ball upfield as Montverde sophomore midfielder Joy Palacios (23) closes in. Cardinal Gibbons saw its hopes for both an undefeated season and a Class 3A state championship come to an end on Saturday morning with a 2-0 loss to Montverde Academy in a battle of nationally ranked teams. (Robson Lopes, Photoyou4life) Gibbons’ bid for undefeated season thwarted

Cardinal Gibbons saw its hopes for both an undefeated season and a 3A state championship come to an end on Saturday morning with a crushing 2-0 loss to Montverde Academy in a battle of nationally ranked teams.

Montverde Academy (21-1-1) got two goals in the final 12 minutes — from junior midfielder Lola Rey (68th minute) and junior forward Marta Arbenina (75th minute) — to win their 10th consecutive game since its only loss of the season, at St. Thomas Aquinas on Dec. 13.

Rey had a hat trick in the state semifinal and eight tallies in her last four games for the Eagles, ranked No. 2 in the nation by MaxPreps.

“I can’t be upset at all with what our girls did out there,” said Cardinal Gibbons coach Margo Flack, who won the school’s lone girls soccer title in 2021. It was their fourth runner-up finish. “There’s been times where we’ve gone down, and they could have quit, and they have not.”

“We’ve had different heroes throughout the postseason,” Flack added. “We knew our legs were going to be tired after the semifinal, and we knew we’d get a couple of chances, and we would need to finish them, and we didn’t. We continued to fight, and that’s all we asked of them.”

In the state semi, Cardinal Gibbons sophomore Reagan Hood scored early, and the Chiefs’ defense did the rest as they held off crosstown rival North Broward Prep 1-0 in the 3A state semifinal.

Senior Caroline Findley dribbled into the area and took a shot that rebounded to Hood, who chipped it over senior goalkeeper Zoie Brown’s head in the 15th minute, and senior Kennedy McCausland recorded her 13thshutout of the season for the Chiefs.

“I think that helped settle us down,” said Flack of Hood’s goal in the semifinal. “I don’t think the pressure ever gets to them. I think they thrive on pressure. Throughout this season, when adversity has hit us, we have responded well.”

Sophomore Abigail Gillette, and junior Shiloh Simmons also helped anchor the backline for the Chiefs, ranked No. 7 nationally.

“It hasn’t been just me,” said McCausland, a three-year starter who reclassified this year and is headed to Belmont University. “When we got the early goal, we settled down, and towards the end it got a little chaotic. I don’t think it is pressure. I think it is more excitement than anything else.”

Hood, who fired off eight shots in the first half alone, was running free in the midfield for most of the match.

“That was definitely one of my top 5 goals,” Hood said. “As a team, we have literally taken it day by day. We are a very technical team that works hard. I think that has been the aura of this team.”

North Broward Prep coach Tricia Amrhein said the team always believed they could come back from the deficit, having done so twice before, knocking off defending state champion Somerset Canyons in both the district and regional finals.

“The focus was on surviving the first half, regrouping, and motivating the players for a strong second half,” she said. “I think we created more opportunities in the second half, but for the first time this season, we just ran out of gas and hit a wall. We just couldn’t find the back of the net early on.”

Junior two-sport star Jayda Palumbo had a few early chances for the Eagles, but couldn’t get on the scoring sheet.

Amrhein said losing to a local rival in the semifinals was especially painful, made harder by the close bonds with the senior class.

“I told them that this is going to be something that they’re always going to remember, and I know that it hurt, but that I was just super proud of them,” she continued. “When we lost to Benjamin in the state semifinals, it was just a 40-minute ride (to West Palm). This was an actual trip. This group of seniors is just truly, truly special. I have been coaching many years, and a group like this only comes ever so often.”

Berean falls to Canterbury in semi

Canterbury (Fort Myers) got two goals each from freshman forward Mia Accola and senior Mackenzie Molina as the Cougars defeated Berean Christian 4-0 in the 1A state semifinals on Friday morning at the Lake Myrtle Sport Complex in Auburndale.

Berean’s girls (16-5) were the first team in any sport in school history to advance to the state final four in any sport. Bulldogs coach Jon Iverson, who has been at the school since 2009, was an assistant coach the following year and has been the head girls coach since 2011, noted that the program has come on as of late, winning three straight district titles.

“This was awesome. If I had known it would be this great, I would have done it before,” Iverson joked by phone. “I didn’t know until we won regionals that we were the first team to go to state. The whole experience, getting a police escort to the Turnpike and having a guy holding a cardboard sign at the entrance stand up from his wheelchair and salute us, is something we will never forget.

“(The school) kept that a secret from us,” he added. “The girls were crying on the bus, and they were Facetiming their moms at work, and their moms were crying. It was such a great experience.”

Despite being outshot 6-2 in the first half and 15-3 in the game, Berean Christian was still in the contest at halftime, trailing 1-0. Molina, however, doubled the margin with a tally in the 66th minute.

Downtown Doral Academy got first-half goals from senior forwards Victor Villalobos and Edgar Mata, and cruised past Somerset Canyons 5-0 to capture the 3A state title.

Villalobos scored in the eighth minute, and Mata doubled the lead in the 30th minute for the state’s top-ranked 3A boys team. The Dolphins (19-1-3), also ranked second in the country, according to MaxPreps, rolled to the title at Lake Myrtle Sport Complex in Auburndale on Saturday afternoon.

Villalobos made it 3-0 in the 50th minute with his second goal, and senior midfielder Santiago Ramos tallied in the 64th minute — both long-range goals from 25 yards out. Junior defender Rodrigo Perez added another for good measure just two minutes later.

“They were as good as I thought they were going to be and even better in person,” said Somerset Canyons coach Eric De Sousa, whose team finished with a school-best mark of 16-3-2 and was playing in its first state final. “Obviously, it is bittersweet. I’m so proud of what we accomplished, and there is history for the badge and the school.”

De Sousa said they had to switch tactics pretty early after the first goal.

“We gave up an early goal off a tactical mistake, and then I thought we did pretty well before they scored goals we could do nothing about,” he added. “I know we can stick with them, but the ball just didn’t bounce our way. They are number two in the nation for a reason.”

The Cougars made the most of their state tournament debut as they picked up a 3-0 win over Alachua Santa Fe in the state semifinals. Junior midfielder Juan Casallas played a huge role in the semifinals with a goal and an assist in sending the state’s second-ranked 3A squad to the finals.

Gabriel Abadia scored in the 47th minute off a header from Giovanni Sanchez to give the Cougars the only goal it needed. In the 65th minute, Denali Swift got on the end of a pass from Casallas and scored in the lower left-hand corner. Casallas closed out the scoring with a penalty kick with 15 minutes remaining.

Casallas said the team has been his family after moving to the United States and living with a host family.

“I am so happy to enjoy that moment with them,” Casallas continued. “America is really different than in Colombia, but it has been unique, and this is my first time playing in something like this.”

Cougars sophomore goalkeeper Jayden Rios needed to make one save, but it was a key one, coming just 15 minutes in with the match scoreless. He also knocked away a cross that was headed to a player on the far post.

“We planned to play assertively, controlling possession and attacking wide flanks, to take the game to them,” De Sousa said. “We wanted to control possession, hit them wide, and activate our press. We had chances, but we didn’t put them away early. At halftime, we adjusted our formation to add midfielders, and that seemed to work.”

“The first goal off the set piece was key because we spend a lot of time in training working on them,” De Sousa added. “They (set pieces) have been a weapon for us all year. After the first goal, we settled into our own skin and played our game.”

Somerset Canyons was the second-ranked team in 3A. They had won four straight since dropping the district title to last year’s state champion, American Heritage-Delray, 2-1. They avenged that setback in the regional final, winning 3-2 (6-5 PKs).

The Somerset Canyons boys joined the Somerset girls soccer team, who won last year’s state title, along with the girls basketball and girls flag football teams, as the only teams in school history to reach the state.

AVENTURA — When an NFL draft prospect walks into the office at Bommarito Performance Systems for his first visit, there’s tangible evidence of the potential that can be achieved from working with South Florida-based trainer Pete Bommarito — just from a glance at the walls.

A few of the names of football players on those plaques: reigning NFL MVP Matthew Stafford, Frank Gore, Rob Gronkowski, Le’Veon Bell, Ezekiel Elliott, Vernon Davis, Jimmy Graham, NaVorro Bowman.

For prospects who recently completed their college careers and now hope to show their best when they test for professional teams at the upcoming NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, that’s an impressive list.

As football players try to transform themselves into track athletes to run the 40-yard dash at Lucas Oil Stadium this coming week, Bommarito, who has been called “the 40, combine guru,” helps them navigate that unfamiliar territory.

“We’re training to be trackstars right now instead of being football players,” said Georgia and former Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Colbie Young, who has been back in South Florida training before the combine. “So just eliminating those little dips, anything that can clock a millisecond of a time, just eliminating that from our stances, our starts and making sure that we’re at top-end speed.”

And Bommarito does it by not just maximizing their sprint technique, but relying on his medical background to put his athletes in position to peak athletically when it’s time to perform with added emphasis on recovery, nutrition and joint alignment.

“There’s a difference between training hard and training smart,” said Bommarito, as he has been putting prospects in this year’s draft class through mock combines each of the past two weeks.

“I am a lunatic with recovery and regeneration.”

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That aspect of it is invaluable, especially since he has several prospects from both Miami and Indiana who were playing in the final college football game of the season, the Jan. 19 title game. Some of them may run at the combine, others may wait until their pro day to maximize their training on what’s ideally an eight-week program Bommarito puts them through.

“He’s got the right staff, the right medical and things like that to get me healthy,” Indiana cornerback D’Angelo Ponds said. “I feel like, as long as I’m healthy, I’m going to run fast, and I felt like Pete was the right person to go to for that.”

A mock combine day at Bommarito Performance Systems has prospects divided in groups by positions. They’ll line up for two runs each of either the 40-yard dash or the 20, depending on what they’re working on that day.

Bommarito positions himself at those markers, and he has cameras propped up every 10 yards, plus staffers both monitoring the start and taking video of each athlete’s sprint.

He holds his stopwatch up as each prospect crosses him to get as accurate a time as possible. All the while, Bommarito observes each runner, taking down meticulous notes he’ll bring back to the group as it gathers between runs.

This level of diligence is vital when these draft prospects have already completed their résumé of film on the field and has been given an initial draft grade by scouts and analysts. Now, it’s about optimizing the measurables that surface between combine and schools’ pro days before the late April draft.

• Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson works out at Bommarito Performance Systems in Miami, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• University of Miami defensive end Akheem Mesidor works out at Bommarito Performance Systems in Miami, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• Indiana University cornerback D'Angelo Ponds works out at Bommarito Performance Systems in Miami, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. Ponds is a graduate of Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• Georgia wide receiver Colbie Young runs at Bommarito Performance Systems in Miami, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• Boston College offensive tackle Logan Taylor runs at Bommarito Performance Systems in Miami, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• Pete Bommarito instructs players on how to improve at Bommarito Performance Systems in Miami on Feb. 11. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson runs the 40-yard dash at Bommarito Performance Systems in Miami, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• University of Miami linebacker Wesley Bissainthe works out at Bommarito Performance Systems in Miami, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• Pete Bommarito times an athlete in the 40-yard dash at Bommarito Performance Systems in Miami, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
• University of Miami defensive end Akheem Mesidor is seen at Bommarito Performance Systems in Miami, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Show Caption1 of 10Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson works out at Bommarito Performance Systems in Miami, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)Expand

“You can’t overdraft a workout warrior,” Bommarito said. “It’s proven to be right. Even linemen, they want athletic freaks. Whether it transfers or not, when you lay down elite athletic wins across the board, that’s what moves the needle. … If you’re winning in the 5, 10, 20, 40, broad jump, (vertical jump) and you’ve got wins across the board, it’s almost inevitable that you will go up to the top of your grade.

“You look at the positional average, and you see who beat it and you see who didn’t — and you see who really beat it and who laid an egg — look at their draft grade coming in, look at where they got picked. Ninety percent of guys who beat the average will move up at the top of the grade. … Ninety percent of the guys will rise or fall based on the numbers.”

Bommarito adjusts schedules for his athletes’ peak performance depending on whether they participated in postseason all-star games like the Senior Bowl or when their college season ended. Miami and Indiana players — like the Hoosiers’ Ponds or UM defensive end Akheem Mesidor and linebacker Wesley Bissainthe — will be on a different training timeline.

On the medical side, Bommarito tracks everything from nutrition to sleep and how his athletes can develop bodily symmetry between left and right.

“The technology we have today, we can not guess anymore. Everything is mathematically calculated,” he said.

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“We’re not just rehabbing injuries and recovering from the season — that’s a big part of it — but the main thing is, if they want to peak performance-wise, whether it’s football drills, football games, all-star games or the 40, right needs to equal left. We mathematically calculate that, literally on a daily basis. Neuromuscular therapy exams, physical therapy stress tests, force-plate metrics, motion analysis, all of it.”

Word of mouth from past draft prospects, many of whom come back to do offseason training once they’re firmly in the NFL, spreads as far as the results seen by the athletes.

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about Bommarito’s, just from former players, my friends that I know,” Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson said. “I knew that this was a place to get my speed the fastest, and also just good recovery. The medical’s great here.”

Added Boston College offensive lineman Logan Taylor: “Just the track history that comes out of this place. It was kind of a no-brainer when I was looking at all the facilities, and Pete’s just a great overall coach to have on your side. Statistics that I was looking at, coming to this place was just a no-brainer for me.”

By the end of next week, when you survey a list of top performers at the combine, odds are you will read some names of players who trained in South Florida with Bommarito.

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MIAMI — Those Los Angeles Lakers players with statues outside of the team’s arena in downtown Los Angeles? They now will have a coach to guide them.

Sunday, Heat president Pat Riley, who guided the Lakers during their championship Showtime era in the ’80s, will become the first coach honored by the Lakers with an arena-front statue, in a ceremony scheduled before the team’s game against the Boston Celtics.

Among those scheduled to be alongside Riley are Heat scout Bob McAdoo, one of Riley’s championship Lakers players, and Heat vice president Alonzo Mourning.

Riley guided the Lakers from 1981 to 1990 as part of his Hall of Fame coaching career, with championships in 1982, ’85, ’87 and ’88. The Lakers went 533-194 (.733) over Riley’s tenure, winning at least 50 games in each of his nine seasons and at least 60 games in five consecutive seasons.

Current Lakers coach JJ Redick, 41, said Riley’s Lakers’ legacy came before his time, but is appreciative of what Riley has done for the profession and for the Lakers franchise.

“I grew up watching 90s basketball and those Knicks and Heat teams,” Redick said of Riley’s post-Lakers coaching stops, “and just how physical and tough minded they were and then obviously played against Riles in Orlando when he was still coaching — the culture word is overused, but the sustainable level of consistency that Miami has had since he’s been there.

“I wish I was alive and well to watch 1980s basketball. But when you don’t have a TV until 1992, it makes it tough nor the memory capacity of 2-6 years-old to really watch those (Lakers) games. But, what he was able to do as a head coach for the Lakers is, I think it’s the North Star for any coach to be at one place for basically close to a decade and win a bunch of championships. That’s all we can ask for.”

Riley, 80, joins Lakers statues honoring former Lakers players Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Shaquille O’Neal and broadcaster Chick Hearn.

“My father, obviously, has had the biggest impact on me in my life,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Jon Spoelstra, a longtime former NBA executive, “but Pat has had the second-biggest impact, certainly professionally, but also in life. He’s the greatest mentor that I’ve had. And he continues to be that, not only for me but for so many in the organization.”

The Heat schedule precluded more organizational presence, with the team hosting the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night at Kaseya Center, where the court a year ago was named in Riley’s honor, and then returning for a practice there Monday ahead of a two-game trip.

Glue guy

With point guard Davion Mitchell having played through fever in Friday night’s victory in Atlanta, he was listed as doubtful for Saturday against the Grizzlies.

But no matter the lineup permutation, which included the Heat opening with a different lineup for the ninth consecutive game on Friday night, Spoelstra’s preference continues to be a role in that first five for Pelle Larsson.

“He’s the glue that really can help maximize lineups,” Spoelstra said of the second-year wing. “Whenever he’s been with that starting unit, it’s been incredibly dynamic. He does all the little things that aren’t seen or not really noticed on the outside, but we notice it. The cuts, the movement, taking charges, running the floor, just moving the basketball, being a ball mover, allowing the scorers to just focus on their strengths.”

On a roll

With Friday night’s 128-97 victory in Atlanta, the Heat now have four 30-point victories in calendar 2026.

As a matter of perspective, the Heat have had only 45 such wins over their 38 seasons, with the three in February the most in any month in franchise history. Six previous times, the Heat had a pair of such wins in a calendar month.

The only calendar year the Heat had more than four such wins were in 1994 and 2012.