The Golden Gate boys basketball team wasn’t about to give up its first chance at playing in a regional tournament. The Lely boys basketball team wasn’t about miss the opportunity to play in its third straight.

The Titans and Trojans both qualified for the regional tournament with their wins Wednesday night in the Class 4A District 12 semifinals. Now Saturday’s Lely-Golden Gate title game at Lely will decide which team hosts its opening-round game. Saturday’s game tips off at 7 p.m.

Relying on its free throw shooting down the stretch, Golden Gate pulled away from Immokalee 75-68. The Trojans (13-10) got 18 first-half points from senior Cedric Sanderson to beat Naples 61-55.

Sanderson was unstoppable in the post in the first half, scoring half of Lely’s first-half points. He finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds.

“I thought our first half of basketball was executed to perfection,” Lely coach Don Stewart said. “We did exactly what we wanted to do.”

The Trojans went cold in the fourth, not scoring from the floor for the period’s first five minutes. After trailing by as many as 22, Naples (12-9) cut Lely’s lead to five points on Mark Wise’s 3-pointer with 16.1 seconds left. But the Golden Eagles couldn’t get any closer.

“The guys started to play more with their heart,” Naples coach Jamie Dockweiler said. “In the second half, we still made some mistakes and missed some shots, but you couldn’t dismiss their effort.”

Evan Taylor scored 14 points and hit four 3-pointers for Lely, while Kevin Swisher scored six points with six rebounds and five assists. Zac Lavoie led Naples with 22 points while Wise scored 16, 13 in the second half.

The Indians (10-13) gave the Titans a run for their money in the early game, closing to within two at 64-62 on David Lamour’s knifing layup with 2:42 remaining in the game. But the Titans (20-5) stayed ahead thanks to J.D. and Joey Woods, who hit 11 of 12 free throws in the final 2½ minutes.

Golden Gate coach Joe Consolino credited his team’s calmness down the stretch, especially in the face of a surging Immokalee team.

“This team is just like that,” Consolino said. “They play with a lot of confidence, patience and poise.”

Immokalee coach Tony Allen said he couldn’t fault his players’ intensity Wednesday night, but they became overeager at times.

“We got a little impatient at the end,” Allen said. “And we took some ill-advised shots that didn’t fall.”

Immokalee’s Allen Green led all scorers with 24 points, including the Indians’ first 13 of the fourth period. J.D. Woods led Golden Gate with 23 points, while Joey Woods added 21.

GOLDEN GATE: 75 -- IMMOKALEE: 68

IMMOKALEE (68)

Washington 1 0-0 3, Green 9 3-3 24, Lamour 8 2-2 19, Henry 3 0-0 7, Williams 2 1-2 5, R. Louis 3 0-0 6, L. Louis 2 0-0 4, Totals 28 6-7 68

GOLDEN GATE (75)

J. Woods 5 10-13 21, J.D. Woods 7 9-11 23, Council 0 0-0 0, David 3 0-0 9, Moss 0 0-0 0, Ortiz 1 1-2 3, Leggett 0 0-0 0, Mesadieu 7 2-5 16, Wilson 1 1-2 3, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Totals 24 23-33 75

Immokalee: 12 - 17 - 14 - 25 — 68

Golden Gate: 15 - 19 - 17 - 24 — 75

3-point goals — GG: J. Woods, David 3, I: Washington, Green 3, Lamour, Henry. Total Fouls — GG: 13, I: 23. Fouled out — Green, R. Louis, L. Louis. Technicals — none

LELY 61 -- NAPLES 55

NAPLES (55)

Wise 6 0-0 16, Dieujuste 2 0-0 5, Garvie 0 0-0 0, Broselle 0 0-0 0, Parliament 2 2-4 6, Torres 0 0-0 0, Arriete 0 0-0 0, Dane 3 0-0 6, Lavoie 8 4-4 22, Totals 21 6-8 55

LELY (61)

Taylor 5 0-0 14, Defeo 2 2-2 4, Silhomme 0 0-0 0, Swisher 3 0-0 6, Holm 2 0-0 6, St. Jean 1 2-2 4, Sanderson 10 5-7 25, Garcia 1 0-0 2, Totals 24 9-11 61

Naples: 14 - 7 - 18 - 16 — 55

Lely: 18 - 18 - 17 - 8 — 61

3-point goals — L: Taylor 4, Holm 2, N: Wise 4, Dieujuste, Lavoie 2. Total Fouls — L: 8, N: 11. Fouled out — none. Technicals — Swisher.

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