BOYS-BASKETBALL

Boys basketball: Riverdale advances as do Lehigh, Fort Myers, Canterbury, and First Baptist

 

 

CLASS 8A

Riverdale 61, Palmetto 54

A frontcourt-heavy Riverdale basketball team finally got the lift they were looking for from their backcourt in a time they needed it.

Nelson Smith scored all 10 of his points for the game in the second half and CJ Cooper scored eight of his 14 points after halftime to push the Raiders to a comfortable lead that whittled down to three with three minutes to go before pulling away late to advance to the 8A regional semifinals with a 61-54 victory over Palmetto Thursday night.

“We played a great third quarter,” Raider head coach Athan Laskaris said. “We came out hot in the third, I thought we were going to give it away in the fourth but we hit some big shots, Nelson hit a big 3-pointer late to give us a cushion.”

Holding a 28-24 advantage at the half with big men Trevon Dickerson and Tyrone Baker scoring 18 of the Raider points, Riverdale used an 18-9 third quarter to jump ahead by 13. With their largest lead of 14 at 49-34, Palmetto used a quick 7-0 run spurt to close to within 49-42 at the 6:30 mark of the fourth.

Laskaris cited fatigue having to use his starters for the bulk of the second half as the Tigers got a 3-pointer from Zorian Geathers with three minutes to go to close to within 53-50, but on the next trip down, Smith knocked in his third 3-pointer of the half to stretch the lead back out to six and Cooper’s floater dropped the next possession to push Riverdale home.

Riverdale High School’s Isaiah Jones scores against Palmetto on Thursday in the Class 8A regional quarterfinal at Riverdale in Fort Myers. Riverdale beat Palmetto 61-54.

Riverdale will take on Lakewood Ranch on Feb. 26 in a rematch of last season’s regional semifinal in which the Raiders took down the Mustangs 64-61. Laskaris expects to see a hungry and talented opponent to bring everything they’ve got at his club.

“Especially since we went up there last year and won, they’re going to want some revenge,” Laskaris said. “Jeremy Schiller is a heck of a coach, just the way they run they execute very well on both ends.”

Dickerson had a game-high 15 points and Baker finished with 12 for Riverdale. Xavier Washington led Palmetto with 13 points.

Lakewood Ranch 47, Gulf Coast 36

Lakewood Ranch's defense stifled the Sharks, holding Gulf Coast to 12 first-half points in an eventual Class 8A-Region 3 quarterfinal victory.

With the win the Mustangs (21-6) advance to a regional semifinal game on Tuesday night vs. Riverdale.

Ranch led 12-8 at the end of the first quarter, 21-12 at halftime and 32-28 at the end of three. But when the Sharks Clyde Kiri stepped to the foul line with 4:04 left in the game, Gulf Coast trailed 36-34. But the 6-foot-10 center missed both free throws. The Sharks got the rebound but had the ball stolen by the Mustangs, one of 13 Ranch steals in the game.

The Mustangs got a 3-pointer from junior guard Keon Buckley (14 points), upping their lead to 39-34. A drive and bucket by Gulf Coast’s Cardin Jo-Bear was followed by a basket in the paint from Mustang Joshua Young, who led all scorers with 20 points.

 

CLASS 7A

Lehigh 90, Naples 83

When the Lightning threated to run away with the win, Naples turned the game into an up-and-down dogfight.

In the end, Lehigh had more firepower. Aided by 19 made free throws in the fourth quarter (out of 27 attempted), the Lightning knocked Naples out of the state tournament for the third straight year.

Lehigh (19-9) led by 10 at halftime, but the host Golden Eagles (15-12) scored the first eight points of the second half to make it a game. Naples got as close at one point but never took the lead. The Eagles twice had the ball trailing by three points in the fourth quarter but couldn’t score either time.

“We stayed focused,” Lehigh senior Delshawn Green said. “We stayed aggressive because that’s how we got the lead in the first half. Once we came together and refocused, everything took care of itself.”

Green scored a game-high 23 points, including 15 in the second half. Darron Humphrey had 18 for the Lightning, while Quinton Desamours added 16.

Sophomore Tony Green led Naples with 20 points. He scored 11 in the fourth quarter, including a four-point play that pulled the Eagles within 87-83 with 24.1 seconds left.

“I’m proud of (my players,” said Garrett Hull, in his first season coaching his alma mater Naples. “They fought hard up until the end. People didn’t really expect much from us this year, but I feel that we exceeded expectations. But I’m tired of flossing to Lehigh.”

— Adam Fisher

Fort Myers 59, Palmetto Ridge 41

For the first 10 minutes of a Class 7A regional quarterfinal, Palmetto Ridge’s Danny Amador could do no wrong.

Each three-pointer he took was nothing but net. Each pass he threw to teammates cutting to the basket was with laser-like precision. The one turnover he had in that time frame he was able to get back and find a teammate for a score.

Amador finished with 18 points in the first half, but Fort Myers (12-13) shut him down the rest of the way and pushed the tempo on offense in a Green Wave victory at the Wave Cave. The win set up a rematch with Lehigh in a regional quarterfinal Tuesday in Fort Myers.

Greenies coach Andrew Grantz was worried the emotional overtime wins over Dunbar and Lehigh in the Class 7A-District 11 tournament last week would result in a slow start to Thursday’s win-or-go home match up. He was correct.

Amador had Palmetto Ridge (12-13) out to a double-digit lead in the second quarter before Fort Myers sophomore Javian McCollum and company stormed back. Grantz pushed his team into a full court press and forced his players to get out on Amador quicker.

The Greenies trailed 28-27 at halftime thanks to back-to-back three-point plays from Brady Luttrell and Josh Gergley.

“We just had to get our energy going,” Grantz said.

McCollum led the team with 16 points and Luttrell and Gergley added 14 apiece as Fort Myers ripped off a 17-3 run to start the third quarter.

By the fourth, the Greenies were looking toward Tuesday.

“We need to be ready (for Lehigh),” Grantz said. “They’re going to want revenge.”

 

CLASS 6A

St. Petersburg-Gibbs 54, Lely 51

The Trojans battled back from a 16-point third-quarter deficit, but couldn’t get a game-tying three on two final possessions in the closing seconds.

The loss ended a promising season for Lely (19-8), while Gibbs (17-11) advanced to a regional semifinal game against Lakewood, a team that has beaten the Gladiators three times this season.

Byntley Theork scored a game-high 15 points for the Trojans, with Whitley Theork adding nine and Jayden Noel eight. Bryce Brown scored 14 points to lead Gibbs, with Frank Gilliam chipping in 13.

The game was tied at 12 after one quarter, but the Trojans struggled in the second quarter and early stages of the third quarter, eventually trailing 39-23 with five minutes to play in the third.

“They went into a zone and slowed the game down on us,” Lely coach Fritz Jacques said. “We took some shots that weren’t falling, so we had to get the ball inside and start moving the ball around more. We sped the game back up in the fourth quarter with our press on defense and were able to get back in the game, but we couldn’t find a way to finish.”

Lakewood 72, Immokalee 51

Lakewood’s Jalen White knew the Spartans were on the precipice of pulling away from Immokalee on Thursday in the regional quarterfinals.

Up by just five points at the half, White saw something bubbling for Lakewood.

“Our job as seniors is that we lead by example and keep everything level-headed,” White said. “In the first half, we tried to just stick it out. At halftime, we said,’look these dudes aren’t better than us if we’re at our best and they’re at their best.’”

An 18-0 run to open the third quarter proved White right, as Lakewood pulled away from Immokalee to win 72-51.

It took more than 5 minutes for Immokalee to get its first points in the third quarter. White, who led the Spartans with 23 points, said Jamille Reynolds was key to Lakewood’s stingy third quarter.

“We did a great job of protecting the rim, and that was our focus,” White said. “Once we get (Reynolds) involved around the rim, our defense goes through the roof.”

 

CLASS 5A

Tampa Catholic 84, Community School 64

The Tampa Catholic boys’ basketball team came down to Naples with one goal in mind, and that was to survive and advance.

Arguably one of the best district runner-ups in the 5A bracket, the Crusaders (22-6) prevailed over Community School on Thursday night.

Junior Kobe Knox, younger brother of Knicks 2017 first-round pick Kevin Knox, had everyone in the Moe Kent Family Fieldhouse in awe. Knox did it all, whether it was throwing down dunks or swishing contested three-pointers. He ended up finishing with 24 points.

Also, for the Crusaders, Johni Broome finished with 20 points. Community School’s leading scorer was Parker Weiss, who had 19 points.

“That was certainly a great start by us, we did not anticipate starting off like that,” Tampa Catholic coach Don Dziagwa said referencing the 15-0 run his team started the game on. “We work all year long on our transition game, and I was pleased”

CSN closes its season at 22-6.

"Tampa Catholic did exactly what we were expecting," CSN coach Greg Donahue said. "I really thought the first quarter set the tone of the game and from there we played a little intimidated.

"This was a fantastic season, we thought we got the most out of this team. I was very proud of this group of kids."

— Alex Martin

Berkeley Prep 61, LaBelle 35

Berkeley Prep knew its region quarterfinal opponent LaBelle was a good shooting team, and in the first half, the Cowboys lived up to the hype. Point guard Enrique Hernandez and Noah Garza combined for four 3-pointers before the break, keeping LaBelle within striking distance.

But while the Cowboys lived and died by their threes, the Bucs had a sure-fire solution inside.

Throughout the night, the Berkeley Prep fed 6-foot-9 forward Chase Barrs, who grabbed rebounds and dominated the paint as he led his team to victory.

For Barrs, who ended the night with 20 points, that was the strategy all along.

“We knew from the jump we had a size advantage. We had to try and get the ball inside,” Barrs said. “But also, that opened up our shooters, because we have a lot of shooters on our team. Going inside-out, that was our plan. And it worked.”

Hernandez led the Cowboys (23-6) early. The senior had 16 of LaBelle’s 26 first-half points, and Berkeley Prep went into the break with just a six-point lead.

When the Bucs took the floor again in the second half, they looked like a different team defensively.

LaBelle guard Deck Dutreuil had a pair of 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter, but it would be the only field goals the Cowboys would have in the entire second half. LaBelle scored just three points in the fourth quarter, all on free throws.

While LaBelle’s offense was stunted in the second half, Berkeley Prep’s picked up the pace. Barrs was double-teamed as the game progressed, but that only opened up 3-point shooting for the Bucs, who ended the night with six baskets from long range.

 

Class 3A

First Baptist 63, Community Christian 46

The Lions overcame what coach Scott Stewart thought were some mistakes to advance from the Class 3A regional semifinals.

Despite not playing what Stewart thought was one of the Lions’ better games, First Baptist certainly looked impressive on paper, putting up 23 points in the third quarter in the Lions Den at First Baptist Academy.

“I would say just say an ugly win is better than a pretty loss,” Stewart said. “We made some mistakes on defense that allowed the other team to stay in the game. But we have to give credit to the other team. I would say we made some mistakes that allowed them to get some high percentage shots off. We made some adjustments at halftime and we got the transition going and then settled in a little bit.”

The key to the game came in the third quarter, when First Baptist (23-5) emerged from the locker room and put up a 12-2 run including some hot 3-point shooting from Andrew Nottidge and Preston Urbancic. The First Baptist two-point halftime lead swelled to 16 points by the end of the third. And then the Lions were on their way to victory.

“In the third, we settled down and realized that this is a little easier than we thought,” Stewart said. “All we had to do is just finish up baskets and play our normal defense. We just got down to talking and communicating and rebounding and just playing playoff basketball, you know? “

Urbancic had 19 points and Nottidge had 14 for the Lions.

Brandon Hill scored 18 points for the Mustangs (14-16). Teammate Sam Battle added 11.

“We're going to continue to get better and we want to fine-tune some things before our next game,” Stewart said. “We just have to go out and play FBA basketball. Our defense did a great job in the third quarter and we're going try and build on that.”

— Tom Corwin

Canterbury 60, St. Stephens 49

Canterbury School went inside to open up the outside.

The Cougars went to 6-foot-8, 230-pound senior center Marlin Jordan and 6-9 Simon Wilbar in the early going, but it was 6-1 senior guard Bryson Royal who did the damage from the outside.

Royal scored 10 points in the third quarter when the Cougars took the lead for good and went on to a 60-49 victory over Saint Stephen’s in the Class 3A-Region 3 semifinals Thursday night at Hoagland Arena.

While Canterbury (17-11) moves on to Tuesday’s regional final, one of the, if not the most successful season for the Falcons came to an end at 21-6.

“That was our game plan to go inside out,” Cougars coach Nike Hibbs said. “I knew they were probably going to double on Simon in the post and move him out of his spot, which they did. We were trying to get more movement too.”

The Falcons defended well early and went back and forth with Canterbury on their home floor.

Alex Cedeno and Royal hit 3-pointers to begin the second quarter to give the Cougars a 19-14 lead.

After a timeout, Saint Stephen’s responded with six straight on a steal and layup by Ty Barker and layups from Ben Schnur and Cam Vining to take a 20-19 advantage.

It was the Falcons’ final lead.

Royal scored seven straight, including a four-point play, as part of a 9-0 run.

“He definitely did,” Hibbs said of Royal’s ability to break the game open. “He played great all game, especially that second quarter. And we can always count on him to guard. That was a big series there. He’s just a steady influence for us.”

Chase Garrett, a 6-3 sophomore guard, led the Cougars with 19 points. Royal ended with 14 points. Wilbur also reached double figures in scoring with 12.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Regionals

Quarterfinals

Thursday

Class 8A

Lakewood Ranch 47, Gulf Coast 36

Riverdale 61, Palmetto 54

Class 7A

Lehigh 90, Naples 83

Fort Myers 59, Palmetto Ridge 41

Class 6A

St. Petersburg-Lakewood 72, Immokalee 51

St. Petersburg-Gibbs 54, Lely 51

Class 5A

Tampa Catholic 84, Community School 64

Berkeley Prep 61, LaBelle 35

Semifinals

Class 3A

Canterbury 60, St. Stephen's 49

First Baptist Academy 63, Community Christian 46

Tuesday, Feb. 26

Semifinals

Class 8A

Lakewood Ranch at Riverdale

Class 7A

Lehigh at Fort Myers

Finals

Class 3A

Canterbury at First Baptist Academy