Braden River cruises past Seminole Osceola

EAST MANATEE — The game began 25 minutes late, but all that did was delay the Braden River boys basketball team’s warm-up session.

Because the host Pirates didn’t let it effect their shooting, once the game started.

Braden River came out hitting on all cylinders, before coasting to a 67-28 victory over Seminole Osceola on Tuesday in the Class 4A-District 10 quarterfinals.

“It’s such an advantage to get such a big lead on a team,” senior center Casey Bobelis said.

That lead began when Braden River (16-8) opened with an 18-0 run, allowing Pirates coach Matt Nesser to summon his bench.

The deep rotation obliged, going up 25 points by halftime

“It’s very important to have bench play in district tournaments, because you’re playing back-to-back,” Nesser said.

The reserves ratcheted the defensive pressure up a notch, too.

Braden River forced the Warriors into eight consecutive turnovers — six straight steals — to begin the second period.

That defensive effort, coupled with sharp ball movement on the offensive end added up to a recipe for an easy win.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that the No. 2-seeded Pirates possessed a clear-cut size advantage over the smaller Warriors (1-15).

“They’re very big and strong,” Osceola coach Jeremy Crane said. “Good guard play, their point guard is very strong and they don’t turn the ball over ... and they execute well, too.”

The Pirates only had eight turnovers in the game, while the Warriors had 21.

Braden River also shot lights out during the first half.

The Pirates shot 48 percent from the field in the first two quarters.

Bobelis dropped seven of his game-high 12 points during that span — including a trey to begin the game.

“Not a lot of guys expect a 6-foot-7 guy to knock down threes,” Bobelis said.

Braden River also got contributions from 11 of the 14 players listed for action Tuesday night.

“We play 12 guys every night, which is unheard of, but it’s been a luxury for us,” Nesser said.

Sophomore guard Eric Foster chipped in 10 points to join Bobelis, who hails from Lithuania, in double-figures.

The win means Braden River hosts Palmetto tonight at 7 p.m.

The Tigers have knocked Braden River out of postseason play the past two seasons.

“The farthest we went is semifinals last year, and we lost to Palmetto,” Bobelis said. “So we kind of owe them one, so it’s a big game.”

But Nesser said his team beat Palmetto in both regular season meetings, while losing to the Tigers in the Smoothie King Classic.

PALMETTO 79, ST. PETERSBURG DIXIE HOLLINS 41 — Jordan Smith scored 29 points, and Reggir Baity had 12 points to lift the host Tigers into the district semifinals.

Austin Gordon, Tyrone Johnson and Shaquille Mays scored seven points apiece for Palmetto.