Victory Christian boys win 2A-District 8 crown

LJ Cason scores 25 to pace the Storm

LAKELAND, FLORIDA – It’s hard to top the past seven days for Victory Christian basketball but the Storm is hoping the best is yet to come.

Victory polished off Kissimmee City of Life Christian Academy, 74-45, to capture the Class 2A, District 8 championship at home on Friday and win an automatic berth into the FHSAA regional playoffs slated to begin Thursday.

“They had a great game plan and tried to slow the game way down and we had to figure out the puzzle,” Victory head coach Steve Fitzgerald said. “At halftime we made a couple of adjustments and then just tried to wear them down. By the fourth quarter, they were beat, but I give them credit for the way they played with what they had.”

Victory was led by junior guard LJ Cason with 25 points. He had just seven at the halftime break but the Storm exploded in the third quarter outscoring City of Life 17-7 to take a commanding 44-29 lead.

Victory Christian junior guard LJ Cason goes in for a layup while defended by City of Life senior forward Jekerrick Oriz on Friday in Lakeland / Photo by Bill Kemp

The Storm are expected to be the second- or third-seeded team behind No. 1 seed Orlando Christian Prep (OCP) and possibly Sagemont in the regional brackets and will host a first-round game.

Victory upset Olympia this past Saturday 56-53 at the Bartow Stinger Shootout – getting 26 points from Cason -- and then followed it up with a 74-39 first-round playoff win over All Saints Academy on Tuesday.

“It was a big win to get ready for the playoffs,” Cason said. “It means a lot (to accomplish all these things this week). It means we are coming together as a team.”

The win over Olympia was also the 500th career win for Victory head coach Steve Fitzgerald, who is in his seventh season at Victory. It was also the second upset Victory pulled off this season against an SBLive Florida Boys Basketball Power 25 Team. The first was at Clearwater Calvary Christian on Jan. 13.

Victory Christian junior guard Jordan Lanier polishes off an alley-oop slam-dunk during the second half of the Class 2A, District 8 championship game on Friday in Lakeland / Photo by Bill Kemp

“These are huge accomplishments for our guys” said Fitzgerald, who also coached 15 seasons at Coral Springs Christian. “But I have been telling them from the beginning, our goal is to compete with OCP. They are the gold standard in our division.

“We have to go through them at regionals so we stacked the schedule with teams that would prepare us to get there. Last year, if we played them 20 times, they beat us 20 times. This year I think we have a chance. I like the grit of our teams. We can win in different ways.”

Victory Christian sophomore guard Jozia Scott is guarded by City of Life point guard Angel Chamblin during a district championship game on Friday in Lakeland / Photo by Bill Kemp

Victory Christian freshman guard Tucker Fox (4) guards City of Life point guard Angel Chamblin during a district championship game on Friday in Lakeland / Photo by Bill Kemp