Well, all of the Southwest Florida district semifinal match-ups are set and as we thought, with such a small margin between the teams with better records and the teams with sub-par records, there were a few upsets along the way. We saw a team in district 4A-10, Hardee, that entered the district tournament with a 0-12 record during the regular season in district action, and they went on to upset the #2 seed Avon Park, who had went 8-4 in district play. There were also a couple 5A schools making some unexpected noise. In 5A-15, Gulf Coast entered as the 6th seed in a 9 team district, and upset the 3rd seed, Lehigh, who was 19-5 overall and 6-2 in district play going in. In 5A-12, Lakewood Ranch, another 6th seed, had lost both meetings this season with it's quarterfinal opponent but found a way to pull off the upset 66-65 and advance to the semifinals. Below we will go through each district to highlight the quarterfinal winners and set up the semifinal match-ups which will all take place this Friday. Seeing as district 1A-12 and 3A-12 did not play any quarterfinal games, we will just direct you to visit the district previews by clicking on the links.
(5) Plant City 61, (4) Sarasota 53
- One of only two local teams in the district, the young Sarasota Sailors just could not hold on as they entered the fourth quarter with a 35-34 lead, but saw the lead go right back to Plant City during the first part of the fourth due to too many turnovers. The Sailors got 23 points from junior guard Elias Gutierrez, as Eric Halliwell chipped in with 8 points and 9 rebounds. Sarasota finished their season 10-16 overall and will hope to build on this season, as they return the majority of their roster and had multiple underclassmen seeing a lot of the playing time this year. Plant City (9-13), who made a run last year all the way to the Regional Finals despite entering the district tourney just 13-8. They're looking to improve on last year's district runner-up finish, but will first have to get by top seeded Lakeland in the early game Friday, tipping off at 6 pm.
(3) Sarasota Riverview 78, (6) East Bay 55
- The Rams took care of business and made sure there would be no 6 versus 3 upset as have been popular in this year's local district playoffs. They were led by the play of 6'5" sophomore forward Nemo Rmus, who finished with 14 points and 5 rebounds, and senior forward Matt Conway, who added 14 of his own. But as always, it was the balanced and unselfish attack of the Rams that was the story as senior guards John Bowers and Derek Robbins finished with 12 and 11 respectively as well. Bowers also had 8 assists and 6 steals, and Robbins had 6 assists of his own. Riverview, now 22-4 overall, advances to face 2nd seed and host Tampa Durant on Friday in the late game to tip off at 8 pm. Durant has had the Ram's number this year, beating them in both meetings, however both games came down to the wire and both losses were by only two points.
(2) Tampa Durant 62, (7) Tampa Riverview 53
- The story here with the two out-of-area schools, was basically just the fact that this was more of a game than maybe anyone expected and just another testament that no one should be taken lightly. Tampa Riverview entered the game 0-12 in district play in the regular season, however, maybe due to Durant taken them a bit lightly, they made a game of it and kept the game within about a six point margin all the way into the last minutes of the game. Durant though was able to do just enough to pull out the scary victory, and will advance to take on the other Riverview, from Sarasota, on Friday at 8 pm.
**Play-In Game
(8) Mariner 76, (9) East Lee County 50
- Mariner's backcourt junior duo of Ricardo Barsesa and Kameron Beach came out on a mission, and nearly combined for as many points as East Lee scored as a team. Barsesa poured in 28 points and Beach added 20 of his own as the Tritons took care of business and were able to get out of dodge and get ready for top seed Fort Myers. Derek Yepes led East Lee with 19 points, but it just wasn't enough. They finish their season 5-18 overall but can be positive as they will return their whole roster with the exception of senior forward and captain, Damien Parris. Mariner advanced to play Fort Myers in the quarterfinal matchup
Quarterfinals
(1) Fort Myers 71, (8) Mariner 56 (@ Fort Myers)
- With district 5A-15 ruling to have the higher seeds host the first round of the district tournament rather than having all of the teams meet in one location, the Fort Myers Green Wave took full advantage of being in their cozy confines. Mariner is a team that likes to get out and run, and they figure the higher scoring the game, the better chances they will have. Well, the Fort Myers jumped on the Tritons right out of the gate defensively, going ahead 19-5 after then first quarter and then increasing the margin to 34-13 at halftime, a margin just too big to overcome for Mariner. However, Mariner made a respectable go of it in the second half, actually outscoring the Wave by six points over the final two periods, but the hole was just too deep to dig out of at that point. Fort Myers was led by a balanced attack with seven players scoring more than 7 points in the game. Most notable were 10 points from sophomore wings Matt Yance and James Whitfield and junior guard Buddy McClendon. Sophomore point guard Evin Graham added 9 points and 6 steals, and Tyler Manning was solid again with 8 points and a team-high 8 rebounds. Mariner finishes the season 13-14 overall and like East Lee, will be looking to next year optimistically as they will return the majority of the key players from this year's squad that made huge strides from recent seasons. Fort Myers advances to play 4th seeded Barron Collier in the semifinals at 6 pm on Friday to be held at Ida Baker HS. The Wave defeated Collier 65-48 just over two weeks ago at home. However, the Cougars were able to avenge a double-digit loss to Cape Coral by knocking them off handedly in the first round, so they've shown the past does not predict the future by any means.
(2) Ida Baker 78, (7) North Fort Myers 54 (@ Baker)
- The 2nd seeded Baker Bulldogs defeated North Fort Myers for the third time this season behind 18 points apiece from seniors Gabe Rodriguez and John Skinner, who also had 8 rebounds. Senior forward Zach Campbell added 14 points and 8 rebounds of his own, as the Bulldogs will advance to the semifinals for the second year in a row. They are still without a trip to the district finals for boy's hoops in the school's short history, and will look to accompish said task by defeating Gulf Coast, who upset 3rd seeded Lehigh. In their lone meeting this year with Gulf Coast, Baker took home the close win with a 62-60 victory that needed a blocked shot at the buzzer to be sealed. Actually, over the past two seasons, both match-ups have been decided by just two points, with Gulf Coast taking the regular season victory in 2007-08. One other note, the victory by Baker this season was at home, and they are playing host to the district tourney this year. We will see if that plays a factor.
(6) Gulf Coast 57, (3) Lehigh 52 (@ Lehigh)
- One of two districts to see a 6th seed upset a 3rd seed, the Gulf Coast Sharks used a great defensive effort to slow down the speedy guards from Lehigh just enough and used a strong second half overall to take down the Lightning on the road. Lehigh (19-6) was able to get 20 points from senior guard Sharod Morse, 12 from senior Jonothan Mendres, and 10 from sophomore Jamaris Brown, but it just wasn't enough in the end. The Sharks held the Lightning to just 6 points in the third quarter, when they were able to grab control, and although the scoring for both teams heated up in the fourth, Gulf Coast again was able to outdo their opponents, scoring 22 to the Lightning's 20 fourth quarter points. Gulf Coast was led by senior guard Mike McGahey and junior guard Korenzo Smith who both had 11 points for the game. Senior Matt Gonzalez added 10 and Mike Feldt chipped in with 8 as well. Gulf Coast advances to the semifinals to face Ida Baker with hopes of improving on last year's district runner up finish. Their game will tip off at 7:30 pm.
(4) Barron Collier 72, (5) Cape Coral 55 (@ Barron Collier)
- In what should have been the closest game, if you based it on seedings, the outcome was more surprising because of the margin of victory, not necessarily because of the winning team. Barron Collier was the higher seed so technically they were the favorites based on that, but Cape Coral defeated the Cougars earlier this season by a comfortable 73-58 margin, and that game was also in the Cougar gymnasium. However, one factor to take into account is that Barron Collier was not completely healthy in that game. Well, they had everyone available on Wednesday and it allowed them to jump out to a quick start in both the first and second halfs. In the second half in particular the Cougars built as much as a 20 point lead in the third quarter, and despite Cape Coral cutting it back down to 6 at one point, the Cougars persevered in the end. Barron Collier was led by senior guard Brian Landers who scored 14 points, and senior forward Jason Humphrey and freshman guard Deoin Clark both added 13 apiece. Clark we might note, was not available for the first meeting between the two schools earlier this year when Cape took the victory. Cape Coral junior wing Joel Hill did everything he could to keep the Seahawks in the game, scoring 25 points. Cape senior guard Cameron Hall also chipped in 13 of his own. Cape Coral finishes the season 17-8. Barron Collier advances to face Fort Myers in the semifinals to tip off at 6 pm on Friday at Ida Baker. The game will mark the second meeting this year between the two teams, with Fort Myers take a 65-48 victory in the first match-up. Cougar fans can hope that their team will make it two games in a row that they avenge an earlier double-digit loss.
(4) Charlotte 50, (5) Southeast 38
- Going into the quarterfinals Charlotte, the back to back district champions, knew that the Seminoles of Southeast High were looking to spoil their run for a 3-peat. Both teams played great defense out the gate and the score at the end of the first quarter was 11-8, a slim Charlotte advantage. Southeast knew that the Tarpons advantage was their inside game, however, Charlotte settled for way to many outside shots in the first half, which concerned Charlotte coach Tom Massolio. The second quarter was an all out battle between both teams, guys flying high to get rebounds, diving on the floor for loose balls and playing complete physical defense. The score at the half was 17-14, Charlotte still holding the lead. In the second half you could tell that that the Tarpon players were told to get the ball into the post. Nick Goshay and Jonathan Ocasio were the go to guys in the second half. Charlotte pulled away from the Seminoles in the fourth quarter and then held off a late surge to secure the victory. Ocasio led the Tarpons with 19 points and Goshay added 15. The Tarpons (13-13) will face off against top seeded Venice on Friday night at 7:30. Southeast was led by Jovon Garvin who had 13 points, and Adrian Richards added 8. The Seminoles finish the season 11-16, which is considerably better than their record a season ago, and can only continue to build around a young group of players and very good head coach in coach Washington.
(6) Lakewood Ranch 66, (3) Manatee 65
- Lakewood Ranch knew coming into the game they would have their hands full. After all, Manatee had beaten them twice this season already by 20 or more points. However, both teams records were 0-0 come district tourney time and the Mustangs must have had a short-term memory because they upset the third seeded Hurricanes like the previous two meetings never occurred. A huge key to their victory was play inside by senior forward Nick Diaz who finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, as well as the game-winning go ahead free throws with 21.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, and with 11 of his 17 coming in the fourth quarter. Lakewood Ranch also got help from sophomore forward Dauntae Johnson who put in 13 points and 10 boards of his own, and Danny Zarrella chipped in 11. Manatee sophomore Quenton Bundrage did his best to put his team on his back though, scoring a game-high 26 points, including 5 three-pointers in the first half alone. He also led the Hurricanes with 11 rebounds. He was helped by junior guard Travon Montgomery who had 17 points and 7 rebounds. Although no doubt disappointed, the Hurricanes finish the season 17-10 overall and can look to just get better going into next year with Bundrage, Montgomery, junior guard Ace Sanders, and a few other underclassmen returning for first-year coach Shawn Campbell to work with for his first full summer with the team. Lakewood Ranch advances to the semifinals and will face 2nd seeded North Port, whom they dropped both games to this season, but as we saw in the first round, that doesn't mean anything to this bunch. The tip off for their game will be at 6 pm at Southeast HS.
(2) North Port 67, (7) Port Charlotte 51
- Coming into the game Port Charlotte was by far the hottest team of the lower seeds that one would have maybe pegged as the real potential upset possibility. They had played North Port tough in both match-ups during the regular season and so that just gave them some added confidence going in. However, North Port showed that they are ready to play and intend to live up to their #2 seed as they jumped all over the Pirates right out of the gate behind 6 three-pointers in the first half, including four from senior guard, and University of South Florida signee Shaun Noriega, who finished scored 16 points in the first ten minutes, and 18 for the game He was helped out by fellow senior guard Teddy Cannon, who added 9 first half points of his own, and 17 for the game. Port Charlotte, as they have gotten used to doing this year, did not give up and did their best to fight back in the second half, thanks in part to junior forward Chad Lawrence, who finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds. But North Port made their free throws in the fourth quarter, 12 for 12 to be exact, and usually when you do that you win. Port Charlotte 6'8 senior Steven Zavier chipped in 10 points for the Pirates in the losing effort as well. "It is a good life lesson for my guys. Never giving up is great, but if you don't put yourself in that situation in the first place by starting off slow, then it will make things a whole lot easier," said Port Charlotte head man Bill Specht after the game. The Pirates finish the season 8-15, but like a lot of other local teams, they are young, with only 2 seniors on the roster, so the future looks a little brighter in the long run and gives good reason for optimism in the midst of heartache. North Port advances to the semifinals to face Lakewood Ranch at 6 pm on Friday.
(1) Venice 63, (8) Bayshore 23
- Moral of the story here, Bayshore just simply had no chance. Venice jumped out early and jumped out big on the Bruins, going ahead 22-3 after just one quarter of play and had a running clock by the time halftime rolled around with a 43-13 advantage. Anthony Hackett led the Indians with 12 points while Trey Burton and Kyle Jutras chipped in with 10 points each, all in limited action with the bench playing predominantly the whole second half. Venice will take on heated rival Charlotte, who handed the Indians their only loss in regular season district play this year, at 7:30 pm on Friday.
(4) Naples 72, (5) Immokalee 65 (OT)
- Despite battling sickness, Naples junior guard Jordan Leach led his team to a victory in overtime over the pesky Immokalee Indians. Leach finished with 28 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals. Naples also got 18 points from senior guard Lance Krietemeyer. The Golden Eagles used a 13-6 advantage in the overtime period to get the victory, in a very back and forth and even game throughout. Immokalee was paced by sophomore guard Jernell Hughes, who finished with 20 points. Naples advances to face top seeded Golden Gate in the semifinals on Friday. Tip off is at 5:30 pm at Palmetto Ridge High School.
(5) Riverdale 54, (4) Gateway Charter 53 (OT)
- This is the way a 4 seed versus 5 seed game should look. Two teams who come in with identical 4-4 district records. It should go down to the wire, and most likely be settled at the buzzer or in overtime. Well, this game had both as Riverdale tied the game on a layup by Dudley Payne at the end of regulation to force an extra 4 minutes. In overtime, it stayed close, and in the end Riverdale was able to slide out with the close victory. Zack Gilyard scored 18 for Gateway Charter in the loss, and senior Ryan Caviness chipped in with 14. Riverdale advances to face top seeded Lemon Bay on Friday at 7 pm.
(1) Lemon Bay 64, (8) LaBelle 52
- Lemon Bay used a 13-2 run in the final two minutes and thirty seconds of the game to pull away from the host LaBelle, in a game that not many thought would be nearly as close. Lemon Bay senior Nick Labadie scored 10 of his team-high 19 points in the final frame to help his team pull out the win. LaBelle, who actually led 42-38 heading into the fourth quarter, was spearheaded by Dorian Deas, who finished with a game-high 24 points. Lemon Bay junior David Lutz chipped in with 14, and senior Matt Wojcik added 11. Marcus Summers added 14 for the Cowboys in the loss. Lemon Bay advances to face Riverdale in the semifinals with the tip off set for 7 pm Friday at LaBelle.
(3) Clewiston 76, (6) Cypress Lake 43
- Clewiston took care of business in big time fashion, making sure there would be no chance of an upset routing Cypress Lake behind 20 points from Hurley Johnson. Jonas Petitdo led Cypress with 20 of his own in the loss. Clewiston will face South Fort Myers in the semifinals on Friday with tip off set for 5 pm.
(2) South Fort Myers 57, (7) Estero 45
- South Fort Myers took down Estero behind the play of Virgil Loiseau, a two-sport athlete, who actually doubles his time during the winter months on both the basketball court and the soccer fields. He led the Wolfpack with 12 points, and Joey Earle chipped in with 10, as South moved on to the semifinals with the victory. They will face Clewiston at 5 pm on Friday.
(3) Sebring 67, (6) Sarasota Booker 55
- The young Booker squad made a game of it as far as into the fourth quarter, but in the end, the size and speed of Sebring was just too much for the Tornadoes to overcome. Booker looked to have a real shot at pulling the upset, after going on a 11-0 run spanning over the end of the first half and beginning of the second, to take a 29-27 lead with just under 6 minutes remaining in the third quarter. However, less than a minute later Sebring would go back ahead 34-32 on a layup and converted free throw by forward Jake Trussell, who finished with a game-high 22 points. Not known at the time of course, but despite Booker battling to keep it close, Sebring had taken the lead for good. Booker managed to enter the fourth though only down 42-41, and had managed for the most part to keep the high octane offensive attack of Sebring from exploding. Sebring is the type of team who would much rather see the game in the 80-point range, but the Tornadoes were doing a good job of getting back on transition defense and not allowing for too many clean rebounds or leak outs by Sebring players. But in the fourth, Sebring got a little spurt of turnovers and easy buckets, allowing them to go on a 18-5 run to start the quarter and putting them ahead 60-46 with just 3:28 left. But give the Tornadoes credit because they could have let it get out of hand with such a young squad, but they didn't and even got it back to as close as 7 with just under a minute left. However, too many missed free throws and costly turnovers late gave Sebring the victory in the end. Booker freshman guard Jamal Gaines finished with a team-high 21 points including 2 treys, while senior Lonnie Jefferson added 13 w/ 12 rebounds and senior Larry Polynice chipped in with 10. Sebring moves on to face Hardee in the semifinals and the tip off is set for 6 pm on Friday at Desoto HS.
(5) Braden River 52, (4) Desoto 38
- The host Bulldogs played it as tough as possible, but in the end their achilles heel came up to be too much to over come. They have struggled to shoot the ball all season long from outside, and when Braden River realized this night would be no different, they just packed into a zone defense and watched Desoto shoot themselves into a loss. Now mind you, the Bulldog defense did its best to keep the game from getting out of reach, only allowing 30 points by the Pirates entering the fourth quarter. The problem, well, Desoto had only scored 17 of its own. Bulldogs senior guard Anthony Ruth did his best to kick start the offense throughout the game, scoring a team-high 20 points including 4 treys, but no one could penetrate the Braden River zone gaps and no one could hit an outside shot consistently. Add to it that Pirate guard Willie McNeal was hounding anyone bringing the ball up the court, and with Desoto having no true point guard, McNeal was licking his chops. He finished the game with 13 points, 8 rebounds, and the all-important and impressive 7 steals. Kareem Jackson actually led the Pirates in scoring, with 21, but the majority of his points came in the fourth quarter on free throws when the Bulldogs were forced to foul to extend the game. To his credit though, he individually sealed the game and maybe won the game as he hit 10 of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter, including nine in a row at one point, and made 11 of 13 for the game. Desoto finishes the season 11-14 overall. Braden River moves on to face top seeded Palmetto on Friday with the tip off set for 7:30 pm.
(7) Hardee 66, (2) Avon Park 60
- By far the biggest upset of the quarterfinal rounds throughout SWFL, the Hardee Wildcats knocked off second seeded Avon Park, despite going 0-12 during the regular season in district action. Maybe the worst thing that happened for Avon Park was that they jumped out to an 8-0 start and probably just assumed they could put it on cruise control. But Hardee hung around through the first half, and then in the second half the Hardee guard got hot from behind the arc and pushed their team into the lead. Avon Park would not be able to answer the bell, and Hardee takes home maybe one of the biggest upsets, based on records alone, in district history. They will advance to take on third seeded Sebring in the semifinals, and as the defending district champions, might just be looking to continue this run and get back to the regional playoffs again this year. The tip off is set for 6 pm.
(5) St John Neumann 49, (4) Canterbury 41
- The only game of the day that was even close, St. John Neumann pulled off the semi-upset, if you can call a 5 over 4 really an upset, behind 16 points from junior guard Matt Stevens. Zack Cramer led Canterbury with 13 points. Neumann advances to face top seed, and district favorite, Community School of Naples on Friday with tip off set for 7 pm.
(3) Evangelical Christian 67, (6) Moore Haven 39
- Evangelical Christian made sure to get out quick and to stay on top of Moore Haven to avoid any upset bids, and were led by Liberty University signee, Joel Vander Pol, who had 21 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 blocks in the win. ECS freshman guard Eain Mosley dropped in a season-high 6 treys and a season-high tying 23 points to lead all scorers. Fred Hall paced Moore Haven with a team-high 13 points. Evangelical will advance to face Seacrest Country Day, who they split the season series with this year, and tip off is set for 5:30 pm on Friday.
(2) Seacrest Country 72, (7) SWFL Christian 45
- Playing without junior standout guard and leading scorer Brunes Charles, who is out with the flu, Seacrest still took care of business in convincing fashion behind 18 points, including 5 treys, from Kavi Shelar. Junior guard Bond Roth also added 17 points for the Stingrays in the win, and had 3 treys of his own. Seacrest moves on to face Evangelical Christian School in the semifinals with tip off set for 5:30 pm
SWFL District Quarterfinals Roundup
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
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