First meeting goes to Noles

BRADENTON - Southeast High's boys basketball team had never played Bradenton Christian before. But that was second fiddle Tuesday night.

More importantly, the schools came together to help raise money for Anthony Negrin, the brother of Panthers guards Jonathan and Jordan Negrin, who has Franconi anemia, a rare blood disease.

All of the proceeds from the concessions were donated to the Negrin family.

"We came together (Tuesday) to support the Negrin family," Southeast coach Elliot Washington said. "We just want to help out in any way we can."

It was obvious the Noles wanted to win the game, too, as Southeast defeated the Panthers 74-66 in a non-district matchup.

Southeast's pressure defense rattled the Panthers in the first period, and on four consecutive possessions BCS committed turnovers. The Noles held a 10-point lead at the end of the first quarter and had pushed its lead to 12 points by halftime.

BCS (17-9) got as close as four points the rest of the way.

The Panthers turned the ball over 31 times, something they can't do if they expect to beat a tenacious Noles (11-10) squad.

"I think they are a lot more physical than we are used to playing against," Panthers coach David Magley said. "It's hard to win when you dig that deep of a whole. The good news is that we have a week-and-a-half until district, so we can work on things we weren't doing so well."

BCS' D.J. Magley recorded his seventh triple-double of the season with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Washington said he was impressed with his team's performance.

"It was about finishing," Washington said. "I was pleased with the energy. This is the time of the year we should be clicking."

Brian Alexander led the Noles with 24 points, and Mike Bacon chipped in with 15.

BRADENTON CHRISTIAN (66) - JoJo Wood 3 4-5 11, Michael Frey 0 0-0 0, Cole Hudson 6 9-9 21, D.J. Magley 7 1-2 15, Jonathan Negrin 1 0-0 2, Eric Fridenberg 0 0-0 0, Robert Edwards 2 0-0 4, Jordan Negrin 2 2-2 6, Noah Thaman 0 0-0 0, Rueben Durand 0 0-0 0, Daniel Magley 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 16-18 66.

SOUTHEAST (74) - Brian Alexander 9 5-9 24, Korey Hunt 1 0-0 2 , J.D. Davis 2 0-2 5, Mike Bacon 6 3-4 15, Trevion Murray 5 1-2 11, Deonte Hall 0 0-0 0, Will Maxwell 3 4-5 10, Rashaad Huggins 0 0-0 0, Stephen Suchy 0 0-0 0, John Ethridge 3 0-0 7, Namon Rice 0 0-0 0. Totals: 29 13-22 74.

Bradenton Christian 9 16 19 22 - 66

Southeast 19 18 15 22 - 74

3-pointers: Bradenton Christian 1 (Wood); Southeast 3 (Alexander, Davis, Ethridge). Total fouls: Bradenton Christian 19; Southeast 16. Records: Bradenton Christian 17-9; Southeast 11-10.