Boys basketball: St. Petersburg loses to Fort Lauderdale Stranahan in 5A final

St. Petersburg coach Chris Blackwell predicted at the beginning of the season that his team could make a run at a state title.

With a balanced lineup, the Green Devils did just, surviving in overtime to beat Orlando Jones in Thursday’s semifinal to reach the 5A state final. 

On Saturday, St. Petersburg was trying to win its first state championshipship in boys basketball since 1933. 

Once again, a team from South Florida stood in the way. 

Before, it was Pompano Beach Blanche Ely, who knocked off the Green Devils three times in the final four, including the 2016 final, 

This time, it was Fort Lauderdale Stranahan. 

The Mighty Dragons were after their third state title in the past four years. One of the titles came against Tampa Catholic two years ago. 

That experience paid off. Stanahan took advantage of early miscues to build a double-digit lead in the first half and cruised to a 64-40 victory. 

St. Petersburg was depleted entering Saturday’s final. Derrick Mitchell, who left in the third quarter of the semifinal win against Jones with a sprained ankle, did not play. 

Turnovers were costly for the Green Devils. They committed 28, including 15 in the first half. Those led to easy transition points for the Mighty Dragons, who led 12-6 after the first quarter and 25-10 at the half. 

St. Petersburg kept battling but could never go on any significant run to cut into the deficit. 

Dylan Kramer, who scored all of the Green Devils’ points in the first quarter, finished with a team-high 14 to go along with seven rebounds. Tristan Gross had eight points and eight rebounds. Marquis Curry Jr. added eight points and four rebounds. 

Despite the loss, St. Petersburg knows it has a chance to contend again next season with two of the top three scorers returning.