BROOKSVILLE – Day one brought a “surprise” in the form of George Jenkins beating Nature Coast Tech, but would day two provide any more drama? The eight teams involved in this one Admiral Farragut, Armwood, Dr. Phillips, East Bay, Hernando, Nature Coast Tech and Pasco. One day one, aside from the aforementioned Jenkins-NCT result–Dr.Phillips easily defeated Pasco, while East Bay crushed Hernando and Admiral Farragut got by Armwood by nine.
Day two got started with the Sharks defeating Pasco, setting up the host school to face Armwood in the 1:30 tilt. The Hawks were flying high over the Leopards from the tip with Armwood holding a commanding 22-4 lead at the halftime break. It didn’t get much better if you were a Hernando fan, but stayed as desired if you were an Armwood supporter as two sophomores led the ‘Wood en route to a 44-19 consolation semifinal win and tipoff this afternoon with Nature Coast Tech. Ky’llen Hymon and Malcolm Lamar finished with 10 and 7 points respectively. Hernando faces Pasco in the first game of the day at the tournament.
The first semifinal of the evening featured George Jenkins and Dr. Phillips and it was an uphill battle from the start for the Eagles after trailing 14-6 at the end of the first quarter. Dr. Phillips led at the break by eleven and at the end of the third quarter by the same margin–but not without the Eagles tying the game at 39-39 with four minutes left in the quarter. That in was in large part to the Eagles’ shooters finally getting shots to fall and the mismatch that point guard Adley Eliacin was creating with Dr. Phillips’ guards.
Eliacin stands at just 5′-6″, while DPHS only has two of its eleven players under six feet. Eliacin’s scrappiness and ability to create his own shots off the dribble gave Panthers defenders fits all afternoon, but in the end it wasn’t enough. Eliacin finished with 28 points to lead all scorers, while sophomore PF Jordan Domineck had a very nice game for Jenkins with 18 points. The Panthers had three players in double figures led by Justin Tucker’s 23 points.
The second semifinal of the day featured a Pinellas-vs-Hillsborough match-up with Admiral Farragut playing East Bay. The Blue Jackets led 13-11 after the first quarter and by just one point (25-24) at the half in a game that was super close throughout until the final quarter. The events leading up the fourth saw the Indians jump to a five point lead with under minute remaining in the third.
The bottom essentially fell out from beneath East Bay the first five minutes of the final frame when Farragut went on a 14-2 run and never look back. Junior guard Cross Meehan scored 15 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to help see that result through to its conclusion. The final score of that one was Admiral Farragut 56-46 over East Bay–but the Indians still put three players into double-figures led by Rhendy Baptiste’s 15 points. Kishawn Miller and Cedric Perry both added ten points in the loss.