Santa Fe High School Heads to State Boy’s Hoops Championship

Buzzer Beater Madness

Dontrell Jenkins to Willie Lewis as time expired. After halftime, West Nassau led for a majority of the third quarter after a close first half.  A Santa Fe Raider run allowed the game to be a back and forth battle within the last two minutes.  After two clutch Dontrell Jenkins free throws to make it a two-point game, Simeone Womack hit a 3 pointer with six seconds left in the game. Straightaway Dontrell Jenkins took the ball down passing to wing Willie Lewis who hit the short range jumper as time expired to give the Santa Fe High School Raiders a berth in the State Class 4A championship game on Saturday.  A shot now entrenched in Santa Fe Raider fan’s memory and history. Willie Lewis didn’t think he was going to take the last shot but he definitely made the most of it.

Santa Fe wins it at buzzer pic.twitter.com/zlgu5lIg1D

— Corey Davis (@ByCoreyDavis) March 4, 2021

Santa Fe and Their Resilience

Willie Lewis credits the crowd and the support of Santa Fe Raiders fans as a factor in their resilience. They played a huge part in securing a victory over West Nassau. It was also a key factor in their victory against Eastside earlier this season in which they won districts.  Coach Elliot Harris credits their run so far due to the resilience of the team this year. In past years, Harris may have had equally as talented teams but no team has had the mental fortitude such as this squad. It’s what helped Santa Fe never give up even when down early in their match up versus West Nassau.

The Underdog vs The Giant

In the championship game Saturday, the Raiders will take on the Pine Crest Panthers at 12:30 pm. Pine Crest will enter the match up as the favorites with a 20-1 record. However, that hasn’t stopped the 20-5 Raiders from pulling off the upset before. We will see if the Raiders can pull it off and become state champions!