The Sarasota High boys basketball team with their Region 3 trophy. Provided photo.

The Sarasota High boys basketball team is on the precipice of history. It was 57 years ago that the Sailors last made the state semifinal game. On Friday, March 7, Sarasota High will face off with Windermere High in the semifinal game of the Florida State High School Athletic Association’s Class 7A state tournament in Lakeland. A win against Windermere, the 4th-ranked team in Florida, would advance Sarasota to its first state championship in the program’s history on March 8.

“Windermere has a great basketball team. They have a big man, they have great shooters, they have athletes and they’re incredibly well coached,” says Sarasota High head coach and athletic director BJ Ivey. “There’s a reason that they’re the fourth-ranked team in the state. They’re a really good basketball team—but the one thing that I remind myself of is that we’re a really good basketball team too.”

In three years under Ivey’s leadership, Sarasota High has established itself as one of the preeminent boys basketball programs on the Suncoast. In the regular season, the Sailors went 25-2 en route to capturing the 7A District 12 title for the second year in a row. Sarasota’s biggest test of the year came in its 64-61 win over Osceola High on February 20 in the region finals of the 7A state tournament, when it survived a 21 point outburst from Osceola in the 4th quarter to secure the victory.

The Sailors have been led offensively by sophomore guard Johnny Lackaff, senior forward Oliver Boyle and junior center David Young. Lackaff, who led the team in scoring for the second consecutive year, exploded for 35 points in Sarasota’s 81-66 victory over Plant City in the region semifinals. In the region final against Osceola, Boyle scored 16 points with three rebounds and four assists, while Young scored 15 of his own and ripped down a team-high 13 rebounds.

While Ivey is undeniably proud of his team’s success on the court, he values most highly the way his players carry themselves outside of the gym. “I’m most proud of how these guys handle themselves every day,” says Ivey. “The fact that our unweighted team GPA is 3.78—they’re doing the right thing on and off the court at an incredibly high level.”

Sarasota High will face off against Windermere High at 3:00 p.m., March 7 at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.

The Sarasota High boys basketball team with their Region 3 trophy. Provided photo.

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