EAGLES ADVANCE IN GMAC
HOLD ON TO BEAT BTW 59-57

When Southwest took the floor Tuesday night for its pre-game warm-ups, one of the Booker T. Washington security crew commented, "Well I guess we'll have a running clock tonight," meaning that BTW would be so far ahead in the fourth quarter that the mercy rule would apply. By halftime, he knew how badly he had underestimated the Eagles. Southwest (15-5) jumped out to a 28-12 lead at intermission before holding on for a 59-57 win over the Tornadoes (15-4) in an opening round game of the Greater Miami Athletic Conference tournament. The Eagles face Krop (20-4), the top-ranked team in Miami-Dade, in the semifinals Wednesday night. Southwest's 2-3 zone defense frustrated Booker T in the first half, but the best way to beat a zone is to shoot over it, and the Tornadoes did that in the second half, hitting eight 3-pointers. By the end of the third period, the Eagles' lead was cut to 40-35. BTW finally caught up at 42-42 with 6:16 left in the game and took its first lead at 48-47 with 4:34 remaining. A basket by Michael Juachon and two by Gio Gonzalez put Southwest back up by five with 2:52 on the clock. Three Tornado 3-pointers in the next minute-and-a-half, sandwiched around a Leo Torres 2-pointer, gave Booker T a 57-55 lead with 1:29 remaining. Gonzalez drained a three of his own with 33 seconds to go, putting the Eagles up by two. BTW missed a jumper, Southwest rebounded, and with a half second left, Oscar Blanco was fouled. Blanco made one of two free throws for the final margin of victory. Juachon led the Eagles in rebounds, steals, and assists with 7, 5, and 4, respectively.
The scoring:
Gio Gonzalez 22
Leo Torres 15
Michael Juachon 12
Oscar Blanco 5
Alex Mola 4
Ray Lleonart 1

HISTORICAL NOTE

This is the first appearance in the GMAC tournament for Southwest since the 2000-2001 season. Back then, the tournament consisted of only 4 teams, the regular season winners of the four districts. Southwest beat Homestead in the semifinals, before falling to Jackson in the county championship game.