What: Port Richey Rotary Ram Classic
Where: Ridgewood High School
Teams: Wesley Chapel, Tarpon Springs, Countryside, Land O’Lakes, Springstead, Timber Creek, Bloomingdale, Ridgewood
The Roundup:
Wesley Chapel 70, Tarpon Springs 66 -OT
The Wildcats scraped and clawed their way to victory after trailing 33-30 at the half. The Spongers were led by Israel Atkins’ 14 at the break, but Tarpon found themselves trailing by three after three quarters. Tarpon Springs went ahead by four with just over two minutes remaining in the games and were leading with less than a minute to go when Chapel’s Reggie Jennings hit a jumper to tie the game at 61-61 with thirty seconds remaining. The ‘Cats forced a five-second call on defense and had a good look at the end of regulation, but sophomore guard Sam Schneidmiller’s shot fell off the mark as the buzzer sounded. Making up for lost time in regulation, Schneidmiller’s eight points in overtime were seemingly the difference. Wesley Chapel now stands at 11-1 on the season while Tarpon Springs is now 5-7.
Countryside 68, Land O’Lakes 55
The Cougars were models of efficiency and consistency as they shot the ball from beyond the three-point arc and from the interior to steadily pull away from the Gators. Countryside shot 58-percent from the field overall (23-of-40) while hitting 50-percent of their shots from three point range on 7-of-14 shooting. The Cougars were led by sophomore point guard CJ Williams’ 16 points–Williams was 4-of-6 from three-point range en route to leading all scorers. Junior guards Trivone Hill and Gilbert Estein both hit their averages with 11 and 14 points respectively, but it wasn’t enough as Countryside led by seven after one quarter, ten at the half, twelve after three–and then winning by thirteen. The Cougars are now 7-3 on the season and Land O’Lakes stands at 4-3.
Timber Creek 77, Springstead 33
The visitors from Orlando were not messing around with the Eagles as they started the game on a 7-0 run and finished the first quarter leading 22-4. The Wolves were suffocating Springstead guards as they tried to move the ball across mid-court which led to many transition buckets–and in bunches. Timber Creek started the second half on a 15-2 run and by the end of the third–the score was 64-21 in favor of the Wolves. Four Timber Creek players finished in double-figures, but only two of them were starters. With the score never in doubt, the Wolves managed to get their bench enough time to see two players from that group reach double-figures. The Eagles were led by Danny Rivera and Jeffery Cotnoir’s ten points a piece. Timber Creek is now 7-4 on the season while Springstead is 4-5.
Bloomingdale 51, Ridgewood 46 -OT
The second overtime contest of the day may have looked like a slugfest on the scoreboard, but it was a track meet-slugfest-heavyweight fight type affair as the Rams looked to knock off their second biggest giant of the season following their 44-40 win over Nature Coast recently. The Bulls led 12-10 after the first quarter and then held a 22-19 lead going into the halftime break. Junior guard Drew Bethony was on fire for Bloomingdale hitting four three’s and keeping the Bulls in front. It was Ridgewood that battered their way back into things leading 32-29 after three quarters using their tenacity on defense and heady play from their guards–sophomore Ty Quiroz and senior Clarence Farria–and that’s when things got a little spicy. That’s when senior guard DJ Thompson Jr. took it upon himself to get things right following forward Trent Wienert fouling out putting in nine points in the final quarter, and adding another five points in the extra frame. Bethony finished the evening with 15 points for the Bulls, wile Nick Lewis added 12 and the aforementioned Thompson Jr. finished the evening tied with Ridgewood’s Ty Quiroz for leading scorer with 16 points. The Bulls are now 13-1 and Ridgewood is now 6-6.
TOMORROW’s SCHEDULE:
Consolation Bracket:
Tarpon Springs (5-7) vs. Land O’Lakes (4-3) – 3:00 p.m.
Ridgewood (6-6) vs. Springstead (5-6) – 4:30 p.m.
Championship Bracket:
Wesley Chapel (11-1) vs. Countryside (7-3) – 6:00 p.m.
Bloomingdale (13-1) vs. Timber Creek (7-4) – 7:30 p.m.