Look: Martin County wins first Florida boys basketball state championship since 1979

LAKELAND, Fla.- The wait is finally over for Martin County.

Cam Insalaco scored 16 points and the Tigers held off Ponte Vedra 53-49 in the Florida Class 6A boys basketball state championship on Saturday to win their first state title since 1979.

It’s the fourth state title in school history for Martin County.

“Playing Dwyer three times this season has really helped us prepare for this moment,” said Insalaco.

The game was tied at 12-12 after the first quarter, then Martin County started to take over. The Tigers held Ponte Vedra to just seven points in the second quarter to take a 26-19 lead heading into the half.

The Tigers continued to play well in the third quarter, increasing their lead to 40-30 heading into the final eight minutes where they will able to close it out.

“These seniors deserved this moment and worked so hard from the first day of the season to now,” said Martin County head coach John Leon.

“To work with these kids for the last six-seven years from when they were little has been an absolute blessing.”

Senior guard Braydin Samuels added 12 points for Martin County.

The Sharks were led by senior forward Ross Candelino who finished with 16 points.

"Our community is 100 percent behind us as far as support goes,” said Ponte Vedra head coach Kevin Whirity. “It’s tough to go out this way, especially with how hard we fought from the opening tip to the final buzzer."

PHOTO GALLERY

(All photos by Annette Wilkerson)