MIAMI — Columbus’ basketball trophy collection has grown extensively over the past two years.
This weekend, the Explorers added a throne and a crown to it.
Less than a month after Columbus secured its second consecutive Florida state championship, the Explorers claimed an even bigger prize after winning four games in four days to bring home the championship of the inaugural The Throne national basketball tournament at Morehouse College’s Forbes Arena in Atlanta.
Playing as “The Explorers,” in an event that technically was not a high school tournament with teams playing as club teams and not official high school participants, Columbus capped it with a resilient 65-57 comeback win over Vikings (North Carolina), a squad consisting of players from Central Cabarrus High School in Concord, N.C.
The Explorers, who at one point this season were ranked in the top 5 nationally, got to enjoy sitting on an actual throne after the game and took turns wearing a gold crown awarded to the winners of the 16-team tournament that featured several of the top-ranked teams in the nation and was broadcast nationally on Fox Sports and NBA TV.
“It’s amazing. We’ve been together for two years and been through hell and back with these boys,” said Columbus sophomore star forward Cameron Boozer on the Fox national broadcast after the game. “We fought through two games being down and these boys never gave up. We stepped up to the challenge and that’s why we won tonight.”
Boozer, who was a little hesitant to wear the crown at first, finally put it on after several of his teammates had. Boozer was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, a day after winning Mr. Florida Basketball honors and a little over a week after earning Gatorade National Player of the Year honors as well.
“Everyone wants to be challenged being out here and being able to play those teams every night is why you play basketball for us,” Boozer told Fox Sports after the game. “It was a great challenge for us and a great experience.”
Boozer did not have one of his typical games, however, against a strong Vikings defensive team, which held him to only two points in the first half and forced the Explorers into 11 turnovers. The Vikings erased an early 11-3 deficit and held the Explorers scoreless for a seven-minute stretch in the first half which allowed them to hold the lead for the majority of the contest.
With many of their fans in Miami watching them at local sports bars just hours before the University of Miami and FAU played for the first time ever in The Final Four, the Explorers turned things around in the second half.
Boozer’s twin brother, Cayden, kept the Explorers in the game with 21 points.
“(Cameron Boozer) was relying too much on his 3-point shot and we wanted him to attack the rim and he did that in the second half,” Columbus coach Andrew Moran said.
Cameron Boozer scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half and trailing 50-46 early in the fourth quarter, he helped spark a 10-0 run for the Explorers who never trailed again from that point on.
Benny Fragela was clutch from long distance, also finishing with 12 points and making four timely 3-pointers. Garyn Bess had 11 points.
The Explorers also needed to come back late Friday night in the tournament semifinals against Camden Avalanche (N.J.), a team they beat during the high school season that features senior shooting guard DJ Wagner, a Kentucky commit, and the top senior prospect in the nation by ESPN.
The Explorers also beat the No. 14 seed The Tribe (St. John Bosco from Bellflower, California), 78-58, in the first round on Wednesday, and the Longhorns Basketball Club (Ga.), 66-53, in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
“I think it came down to what we believe in and that’s our defense,” Moran said. “We want to be the best defensive team and that wasn’t us in the first half. We stacked it up in the second half. This team is here for a reason. They beat tough teams this whole tourney. They share the ball and they’re a great team.”
