Ranch boys lock up top seed for boys basketball district playoffs
Devin Twenty led the way with 17 points as Lakewood Ranch High School stormed back from a four-point halftime deficit to roll past Sarasota, 63-48, in boys basketball on Friday.
Joining Twenty in double figures were Jack Kelley and Sam Hester. Both finished with 10 points. Kelly produced a double-double with 11 rebounds.
With the victory, Lakewood Ranch (17-2, 8-0) locked up the No. l seed in Class 8A-District 11 for third year in row. The Mustangs return to action Tuesday at Venice at 7:30 p.m.
Palmetto 64, Manatee 61: Kenny Brown led all scorers with 17 points to propel the Tigers (7-6, 5-3 Class 8A-District 11) in Bradenton for a critical district win.
Guards Shane Hooks and Alex Petival each scored 16 to lead the Canes (11-9, 2-6) on the night they honored their 1976 state semifinal team.
Palmetto returns to returns home Tuesday for another district game against Sarasota in Palmetto. Manatee will host Braden River for a district game of its own Tuesday in Bradenton.
Bradenton Christian 74, Gulf Coast HEAT 41: AJ Schewe 27 scored a game-high 27 points and Dom Otteni added 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Panthers in Sarasota.
Colton Popp added 12 for Bradenton Christian (11-7), which led by 19 at the half. The Panthers play next at home on Saturday at 5 p.m. against Cambridge Christian
Bayshore 80, at Dunedin 36: Bona Baker led five players into double figures with 18 to lead the Bruins to the road romp. Denny Dessin and Chris Harris both finished with 14 points. Jaylen Pauley and Jaamal Newsom contributed 10 points each.
With its fourth win in a row, Bayshore improves to 9-10 overall, 5-4 district and can return to .500 on Monday against North Port Imagine at home.
Braden River 60, Venice 43: Deoni Cason finished with 21 points, seven steal and four rebounds to pace the Pirates. He converted 6 of 9 3-point attempts. Curtis Cobb finished with 14 points, while Daniel Tart chipped in with a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds). Ryan Duncan also contributed 10 rebounds.
Braden River (14-4, 5-3) plays at Manatee on Tuesday.
Sarasota Christian 53, Saint Stephen’s 50: Cade Westberry’s 15 points weren’t enough to keep the visiting Falcons (9-10, 5-5) from slipping back below .500. Ty Barker and Jordon Murrell finishd with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Saint Stephen’s is off until Thursday when it plays host to Keswick Chrisian.
Clearwater Central Catholic 56, Cardinal Mooney 41: The Cougars (2-17, 1-7 Class 5A-District 9) fell short against the rival Marauders in Sarasota. Mooney will go on the road Wednesday, but stay in Sarasota for a non-district game against the Sailors.
Girls basketball
Saint Stephen’s 42, at Sarasota Christian 31: Claudia Sbaschnik’s 16 points led the Falcons (8-8, 5-3) back to .500 for the season. Lenae Jones contributed 12 for Saint Stephen’s, which next plays at Tampa Prep on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Alyssa Schrag led Sarasota Christian (5-16, 1-7) with 10 points.
Girls soccer
North Port 4, Venice 2: Two days after knocking off Braden River in the Class 4A-District 11 semifinals, the Bobcats knocked off the host Indians to win their first district title. North Port raced ahead 3-0 on goals by junior Samantha Freitas, senior Hayley Royer and sophomore Adrianna Troche.
After back-to-back goals by the Indians, Troche scored again in stoppage time to win the district, which also includes Palmetto.
The Bobcats will play host to Estero in the Class 4A-Region 3 quarterfinals Tuesday in North Port. Venice will travel to Fort Myers on Thursday to meet the Green Wave in the region quarterfinals.
This story was originally published January 21, 2017 at 12:25 AM with the headline "Ranch boys lock up top seed for boys basketball district playoffs."