Balanced Lakewood Ranch boys basketball pounds Palmetto

Five players scored in double figures for Lakewood Ranch in an 83-61 blowout of Palmetto at home. Guard Damien Gordon led the Mustangs (13-2, 5-0 Class 8A-District 11) with 17 points, wing Evan Spiller scored 11, and Devin Twenty, Jack Kelley and Blauvelt Georges all scored 10. Jason Spicer Jr. led all scorers with 19 for the Tigers (4-5, 2-3) and Kenny Brown added 14.

Lakewood Ranch continues district play Friday with a road game against rival Braden River. Palmetto returns home Thursday to welcome Venice to Palmetto.

Braden River 40, Sarasota 37: Guard Deoni Cason scored all 10 of his points during the fourth quarter to lift the Pirates past the Sailors at home. Braden River (12-2, 4-1 Class 8A-District 11) outscored Sarasota, 19-11, during the final period. Post player Ryan Duncan paced the Pirates with 11 points and 20 rebounds.

Braden River now has a quick turnaround for a road game against Southeast on Wednesday.

Venice 53, Manatee 52: The Hurricanes dropped a heartbreaker to the Indians in Venice despite 15 points from guard Shane Hooks. Fellow guard Alex Petival added 10 points for the Canes (10-6, 1-4 Class 8A-District 11) in the narrow defeat.

Manatee continues its road trip Friday when it travels to Sarasota to face the Sailors in another district clash.

Bradenton Christian 52, Saint Stephen’s 43: Point guard Kevin Etienne flirted with a triple-double, and finished with seven points, eight rebounds and seven assists to help the Panthers beat the Falcons at home. Guard Dominick Otteni led BCS (9-5, 5-2 Class 3A-District 5) with 19 points and shooting guard AJ Schewe added 13 in Bradenton. Otteni also stole the ball from Saint Stephen’s (6-8, 4-3) six times.

Bradenton Christian will stay home Thursday to host Sarasota. The Falcons travel to St. Petersburg on Thursday to face Keswick Christian.

Palmetto 5, Braden River 2: Ty Dolan and Jorge Morales both scored twice to help the Tigers lock up the top seed in their district tournament with a road win against the Pirates. Morales and Dolan each assisted one goal to the other, while Dolan picked up another off an assist from Leandro Gonzalez and Morales scored off a feed from Frankie Arroyo. Palmetto’s (15-1-1, 7-1 Class 4A-District 11) final goal against Braden River (3-7-1, 2-5-1) came on a penalty kick by Arroyo.

The Tigers return to Palmetto on Thursday to host Sarasota Booker. Palmetto. The Pirates will host Sarasota on Thursday.

Southeast 5, Manatee 4: Despite three second half goals from Daniel Reyna, the Hurricanes fell short against the Seminoles at home. The Noles (6-7-2) built a 4-0 lead on the Canes (5-4-2) by halftime and it was enough to hold off late a late charge in Bradenton.

Southeast returns home Thursday for another non-district game against Sarasota Military Academy. Manatee hosts Sarasota Booker on Wednesday.

Lakewood Ranch 4, Cardinal Mooney 1: Pablo Vargas recorded a hat trick and the Mustangs bounced back from a rare loss to beat the Cougars in Sarasota. Connor Bezet scored the first goal for Lakewood Ranch (11-1-1), which overcame a goal by Mooney (8-3-2) star Alex Turner.

The Mustangs return home Thursday to host Venice. Cardinal Mooney will host Tampa Catholic on Friday.

Saint Stephen’s 2, Sarasota Riverview 1: Freshman Nico Colacci and senior Alex Virgilio both scored to help the Falcons muscle out a win against Riverview in Bradenton. Goalkeeper Trevor Mulqueen only faced five shots on goal, and Kevin Zandomenego and Noah LaBelle both dished out assists for Saint Stephen’s (12-2-1).

The Falcons return to the field for another home game Friday against Clearwater Calvary Christian.

Out-of-Door Academy 3, Sarasota Christian 0: Sophomore Filip Svoboda scored all three of Out-of-Door’s goals with the help of assists by midfielders Michael Ordetx and Agustin Gualtieri to beat the Blazers at home. Goalkeeper Matteo Romano posted the shutout for the Thunder (8-4-2, 3-2-1 Class 1A-District 7) in its final home game.

ODA is off until next Tuesday when it travels north to face Tampa Prep.

Saint Stephen’s 8, Southeast 0: Seven different players accounted for the Falcons’ eight goals in a shutout win against the Seminoles in Bradenton. Kelsey Leskinen was Saint Stephen’s (10-4) only player to score twice. Grace Barnes, Julianne Dunbar, Emily Hiebner, Ally Kukanza, Kendall Miller and Katie Pierce all scored once to blow out the Noles (4-11).

The Falcons will be back on the field at home against Braden River on Wednesday. Southeast closes its regular season Thursday against Sarasota Military Academy at home.

Bradenton Christian 3, Tampa Cambridge Christian: Midfielder Molly Setsma scored three unassisted goals to help the Panthers take down Cambridge Christian in Bradenton. Goalkeeper Rayna Smith anchored a solid defensive effort for BCS (8-4) with eight saves.

Bradenton Christian closes the regular season with its senior night Friday against Sarasota Military Academy.

Lakewood Ranch 54, Manatee 19: The Mustangs took a 33-point lead into halftime and rolled past the Hurricanes in Bradenton. Four players cracked double figures for Lakewood Ranch (18-2, 6-0 Class 8A-District 11), led by center LaDazhia Williams’ 17 points. Guard Kayla Bell added 12 for the Mustangs, wing Aleah Robinson scored 11 and post player Cierra McKinon chipped in 10 to rout the Canes (12-6, 2-5). Bri Purington led Manatee with seven points.

Lakewood Ranch returns to the court Thursday with a home game against district rival Sarasota. Manatee has a quicker turnaround before it hosts Sarasota Military Academy on Wednesday.

Palmetto 55, Braden River 15: Tina Stephens recorded a triple-double with 16 points, 16 rebounds and 11 blocks to help the Tigers rout the Pirates in Palmetto. The post player also dished out six assists. Guard Brittnaye Wester added 12 points for the Tigers (13-5, 5-2 Class 8A-District 11) and small forward Zoey Jones scored 10 to beat Braden River (4-12, 1-5).

Palmetto continues district play at home against Venice on Thursday. The Pirates continue with a game against Manatee in Bradenton.

Bradenton Christian 70, Saint Stephen’s 31: Guard Sophie Giardina and forward Jessica Jackson each scored 18 to lead the Panthers to a blowout win against the Falcons at home. Forwards Bailey Sikkema and Amy Van Ryn gave BCS (17-1, 6-0 Class 3A-District 5) four scorers in double figures against Saint Stephen’s (3-7, 3-3) in Bradenton. Sikkema finished with 12 and Van Ryn scored 17.

Bradenton Christian goes on the road Friday for another district game against Out-of-Door Academy. The Falcons travel to Fort Myers on Thursday to face Canterbury.

This story was originally published January 10, 2017 at 10:57 PM with the headline "Balanced Lakewood Ranch boys basketball pounds Palmetto."