LAKELAND – Dr. Phillips juniors Denzel Aberdeen, Riley Kugel and Ernest Udeh Jr. have another year of high school to go, but they made sure Panthers boys basketball didn’t have to wait on the future to celebrate a long-sought state championship.
Aberdeen poured in 27 points, Kugel scored 14 and 6-foot-10 Udeh grabbed 13 points and blocked six shots as DP won 54-46 against Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer on Saturday night at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
The Panthers finished 24-3 with 12 consecutive wins. Things did get a bit scary at the end for a program that made its seventh state tournament appearance and finally won the big prize.