Boys basketball | BCS routs Sarasota Christian for first district title since 2009
BRADENTON -- Scott Townsend began his fifth season at Bradenton Christian with a senior-laden roster he knew could be special.
The Panthers finished as district runners-up in each of Townsend's first four seasons in Bradenton, and the core of his present roster went through three of those seasons with him.
One year it was Antonio Blakeney, now at LSU, dashing BCS' hopes as a junior for Cardinal Mooney.
Last year the Cougars and Ryan McMahon, now at Louisville, topped Bradenton Christian.
But this season, the Panthers' first in Class 2A-District 9, they're the powerhouse, and they completed a perfect district campaign with a 91-60 win against Sarasota Christian at Bradenton Christian School Friday. The win gave the top-seeded Panthers their first district title since 2009.
"These guys have worked really hard the last four years," Townsend said. "The last four years we've been district runners-up, so we've been working really hard trying to get here and get this."
BCS (23-3) will play host to its first region quarterfinal since 2009 on Thursday against Naples Seacrest Country Day.
Bradenton Christian has taken a leap forward this season with a roster full of shooters and a machine-gun tempo most small schools can't run with. The Panthers start four guards who can knock down shots from the perimeter and pass in the open floor.
On Friday, BCS' shooting failed. Bradenton Christian sank its first 3-pointer, but missed its next 10 to finish 1-for-11 from beyond the arc. The Panthers still approached 100 points and beat the Blazers (18-8) by 31.
"We played alright," senior Ryan Leunk said. "We didn't shoot as well as we
normally do."
Leunk knocked down BCS' only 3 and finished with a game-high 23 points. Although he plays shooting guard, Leunk is Bradenton Christian's third tallest player at 6 feet, 3 inches. The Panthers led 23-8 at the end of the first quarter and stretched their lead to 52-25 by halftime by creating turnovers and pounding the ball inside.
Leunk scored six of BCS' first 10 points during the second quarter either on putbacks or post-ups. Senior JT Noellert scored the other four when Bradenton Christian's guards lofted entry passes over the No. 2-seed Blazers' undersized defense to set up easy layups for their 6-foot-8 center.
Noellert finished with 15 points and grabbed five rebounds. Small forward Justin Aracena, another 6-foot-3 senior, recorded a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds off the bench.
"It felt good to finally get the win tonight," Leunk said. "It's one of the goals we've been looking forward to for a couple years now."
David Wilson, Herald sports writer, can be contacted at 941-745-7057 or on Twitter @DBWilson2.
This story was originally published February 5, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Boys basketball | BCS routs Sarasota Christian for first district title since 2009 ."