Palm Beach Central boys basketball, led by former Wellington assistant John Saint Juste, secured their first-ever district championship with a dominant win over rival Wellington.
WELLINGTON — When John Saint Juste took over as boys basketball coach at Palm Beach Central two seasons ago, he knew where he wanted to take the program.
Saint Juste had spent seven years at crosstown rival Wellington as an assistant to Matt Colin, whose resume includes a state championship in 2015. He had been part of one of Palm Beach County's most successful programs.
"We re-created the culture but added our own flavor to it," Saint Juste says of his early days with the Broncos.
On Feb. 7, Palm Beach Central showed it belonged in the same class with its longtime nemesis, jumping to a 16-2 lead and never letting up in a 64-37 victory over the Wolverines in the District 8-7A championship game.
It was a stunning outcome in more ways than one.
The teams split two regular-season meetings, but Wellington won the most recent matchup 68-58 on Jan. 16. That was part of a late-season surge that helped the Wolverines (16-8) earn the No. 1 seed in the district — and home court for the title game.
History also was working against the Broncos (19-7). While Wellington has racked up basketball hardware for years, Central hadn't won so much as a district title in its 23-year history.
After the game, Saint Juste recalled a 32-point loss to Wellington in the district final to end his first season.
"It feels so good," he said. "Two years ago, I said it's going to take some time to build it, and once we get there we'll be able to compete. That's a very good team over there, very well-coached. For us to pull this off, we had to have great practices, we had to have great focus, and I thought we brought that today."
Central's suffocating defense set the tone early, forcing turnovers on Wellington's first two possessions. Senior guard Jayden Francis scored 11 points — more than double his per-game average — to help the Broncos take an 18-5 lead after one quarter.
The second quarter was more of the same, with Central taking advantage of a flagrant foul to score five points on one possession (a free throw on the technical foul, two free throws on the personal foul and a field goal) and take a 36-14 lead into intermission.
Saint Juste, who had been a part of dramatic Wellington comebacks in the past, said he wasn't taking anything for granted at halftime.
"I told the team, 'They're going to fight back. That team is going to come back. We're going to have to put a full four quarters together,'" the coach said.
Senior guard Rashard Reinhardt, Wellington's leading scorer, hit three consecutive baskets early in the third quarter to make it 38-20. But that was as close as the Wolverines would get.
The Broncos led by as many as 33 points in the fourth period. And when the buzzer sounded, they stormed their rival's court and hoisted the school's first district championship trophy.
"We had vengeance on our mind this game," said senior forward Tariq Mcleod, a transfer from Lake Worth who leads the Broncos in scoring. "We had a lot of blood on our mind this game."
Francis finished with a game-high 17 points and Mcleod added 15. Senior guard Ryan Waugh scored nine points and junior center Tyler Desilma scored eight, while helping Central dominate the boards.
"They brought a lot of physicality to the game," Colin said. "Credit them for being as physical as they were in every aspect, whether it was attacking the rim, grabbing rebounds, setting screens and even running through our screens. That set a great tone for them and our guys kind of fell to the wayside."
Colin said he was happy for Saint Juste, his former assistant.
"He's doing a great job," Colin said. "He's one of my guys, and as disappointed as I am, I couldn't be more proud of him. He's built that program up and he's done a remarkable job."
Central will receive an automatic berth in the Region 2 playoffs, which begin Feb. 14, and Wellington is virtually assured of an at-large bid. The Broncos bring a seven-game winning streak into the regionals.
"If we come in and play the same way we did (tonight) for the next few games, we're going to make it to state, no question about it," Mcleod said.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach Central basketball wins first district title over Wellington
Category: General Sports
