JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Bishop Snyder boys basketball team has had a great regular season. Its best ever, actually.
This year’s Cardinals team has already made history. They went 19-8 in the regular season and brought home the first district championship in school history.
Next up: Unfamiliar territory.
An unfamiliar title.
Favorites.
A home game.
In the state playoffs.
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The Cardinals don’t intend to stop there.
The Cardinals beat Providence 43-40 in the district semifinals to keep the Stallions out of the playoffs after making it for an area-high 19 consecutive seasons. Then came the signature win of the season, a 66-60 victory over Super 6 No. 1 Jackson in the district title game.
That gave Snyder two wins over area heavyweights on its path to the postseason.
“It is unbelievable. It really didn’t set in until the day after,” said senior guard Austin Lewis. “It meant everything. It is a great feeling but that is in the past now.”
This year’s playoff trip is just the fourth time since the school opened in 2002 that the basketball team has punched a ticket to the postseason. Most of those years, Snyder had the misfortune of playing in the same district as programs like Arlington Country, Bradford, Providence and Trinity Christian.
The Cardinals have made the postseason just three times before this season and and have never won a game. Snyder hopes to change that Thursday night when Tallahassee Maclay visits in the Region 1-3A regional quarterfinals.
Lewis says that winning a district championship has just added to the team’s confidence that they will bring out onto the court in the playoffs.
“We have not gotten satisfied just by winning district. We want a little bit more than that,” he said.
Making the playoffs and winning the first district championship in school history are big accomplishments but that isn’t enough for this year’s Cardinals. They have their eyes set on winning games in the postseason.
Cardinals second-year head coach Russell Powell said that he’s confident in the team as long as they play their game and stay locked in mentally.
“I feel good going into every game as long as we focus on us,” he said. “I feel good going into any game.”