Boys Basketball: Pine Forest believes it can "compete with anybody" ahead of state semifinals

Joshua Whitehurst was a key contributor to the Pensacola area's last boys basketball state champion, helping Woodham win the Class 4A crown in 2003 in Lakeland.

Fast forward 19 years later, and there's a different Whitehurst looking to accomplish that same feat on the same court.

"It's going to be different. Our first time going to Lakeland and going to state," Pine Forest junior guard Joshua Whitehurst Jr. said. "I've been hearing a lot of stories, because my dad went to state. He told me it's going to be a different atmosphere."

The Eagles aim to end the area's championship drought in boys basketball this week as they take on Stranahan in a 5A state semifinal at 2 p.m. EST Thursday from the R.P. Funding Center in Lakeland.

Eagles' Region 1-5A title: Whitehurst's buzzer-beater sends Pine Forest to first Final Four since 2013

PNJ Basketball Leaderboard: Escambia, Santa Rosa county stat leaders during state play

Pine Forest is the fourth seed in the Final Four bracket while the Mighty Dragons are the top seed. The winner advances to state championship at 3 p.m. EST Saturday where it plays the winner of No. 2 Jones and No. 3 St. Petersburg.

Winners of 10 of its last 11 games, the Eagles roll into the state semifinal on the heels a dramatic game-winner from Whitehurst Jr. The junior guard drained a 3-pointer from beyond 30 feet at the buzzer to lift Pine Forest to a 62-59 victory over Ridgeview last Friday in the Region 1-1A Final.

The Generals entered the state postseason as the top-ranked team in 5A.

"That win does wonders for our confidence," Eagles head coach Ty McCants said. "That was the No. 1 ranked team, the best team that we've seen all year from film and playing. So for us to go in and beat them in that way, we know that we can go and compete with anybody now. ... If we just play our game, we should be fine the rest of the way."

Whitehurst said of the response after his buzzer-beater: "The last few days have been crazy. I've been getting a lot of support from different places."

Yet, when players returned to the Ann Carol Suarez Gym for practice Monday, the excitement of capturing the program's first regional title since 2013 was a thing of the past.

All gears have shifted toward Pine Forest's next opponent.

"There's a been a whole lot of film, a whole lot of recovery for the kids, a whole lot of bringing ourselves back down to earth knowing that we got two more games to go," McCants said. "We're getting back to focus knowing that the mission is not complete yet."

Recently: Region 1-5A Semis: Pine Forest halts Ribault's Cinderella story with fourth-quarter surge

Hailing from Fort Lauderdale, Stranahan enters the Final Four with a championship pedigree. The Mighty Dragons have won state championships in two of the last three years. This year's squad has complied a 25-3 record, with 72 percent of their victories coming by 10 points or more.

Relinquishing only 45.9 points per game, the Region 4 champions are carried by their defense, which has impressed McCants during film study.

"They help very well on defense," he said. "They play a great pack-line (defense). They really close up gaps so its hard to drive. They help and recover very well, they protect very well and they make you earn everything. They do a great job of keeping you in front of them, making you take longer possession to try and take a good shot."

Offensively, Stranahan takes its time with the ball and generally doesn't play at a break-neck pace. But just like Pine Forest, the Mighty Dragons aren't simply reliant on a one person to score.

Junior Hykeem Williams leads the team at 12.3 points per game. He also averages 10.2 rebounds a contest. Senior guard Tamarrien Thorpe chips in 10.4 points while fellow senior guard Jaylen Black contributes 7.3 points along with team-bests of 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals.

Related: Friday Roundup: Pine Forest is Final Four bound, while the PCC held their own Final Four

However, if there's one player that makes Stranahan go, it's Houston Culpepper. Averaging 10.9 points and 10.2 rebounds this season, the senior wing was also a member of the program's 2020 state championship team.

"He's their heart-and-soul," McCants said of Culpepper. "He brings (the ball) down a lot, he posts up, he sets the offense up. He's about 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, so he's a handful down there. He's one guy we definitely have to key in on."

The Eagles hope to continue the school's spectacular run during the 2021-22 athletic calendar. The boys basketball team has made it to state just one week after the girls basketball team earned its way to Lakeland.

Over the winter, the Pine Forest football team put the program on the map with a thrilling trip to the 6A state championship game.

Now, it's the boys basketball team's turn to showcase their abilities on the state's grandest stage.

"We got champions over here," McCants said. "It just takes one group to set it off like football did. The rest of the school sees it, the rest of the athletes see it. They want that for themselves and they go get it. It's great time to be here. We do what we can with what we have over here. We have great athletes, coaches, and an administration; we just put it all together and that's why the success has come."

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (850) 503-3828, on Twitter @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Boys Basketball: Pine Forest readies for first state trip since 2013