Manatee’s Graham scores 29 in win over Bradenton Christian

Jermaine Graham scored 29 points Thursday night as the host Manatee Hurricanes improved to 2-0 with a 73-63 victory over the Bradenton Christian Panthers in boys basketball.

JJ Benedict had a big night with 23 points as the Panthers fell short.

Manatee got out to an early 32-18 lead, but the BCS fought back to take a 36-33 advantage at the half.

In the second half, Manatee rallied and kept a steady five-point lead to pull out the victory.

Other leading scorers for Manatee were Alex Rodriguez (13) and Kevin Etienne (10).

Cam Rosier had 16 points, and AJ Schewe added 11 for BCS (1-1).

Cardinal Mooney 53, Sarasota Military Academy 23: The Cougars prevailed in their season opener. Top Mooney scorers were Harper Juall (11), Dante Pascarella (10) and Meko Mayes (9). Teddy Carreau led SMA with nine points.

Bayshore 82, Palmetto 73: The Bruins opened their season with a victory over the visiting Tigers on Wednesday night.

Senior Jaylen Pauley led the Bruins with 25 points. Senior Bona Baker and sophomore Devon Randall also reached double figures with 16 and 14 points.

Girls basketball

Saint Stephen’s 61, Out-of-Door Academy 24: The Falcons were led by seniors Claudia Sbaschnik (15 points), LeNae Jones (14) and seventh-grader Jordyn Bird (10) in a victory over the Thunder.

Top scorer for ODA was Liberty Strafuss with 16.

Saint Stephens improved to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in district play.

Manatee 79, Indian Rocks Christian 25: Sophomore guard Andrea Soto scored 17 points to lead the undefeated Hurricanes to a victory on the road.

Ophelia Lidge had 15 points, Tay Watson contributed 10 points and eight steals, and Marisa Armer, a freshman center, chipped in 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Canes (4-0) visit Palmetto at 6 p.m. Tuesday for their district opener.

Riverview 72, Bradenton Christian 54: The Rams (3-2) prevailed over the Panthers (2-3), who had three players who scored in double figures.

Leading the Panthers were Hannah Wiers (14 points, 8 rebounds), Abby Leahy (11 points) and Emma Swaagman (12 points, 12 rebounds).

BCS hosts Imagine School of North Port at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Boys soccer

Lakewood Ranch 3, Sarasota 1: Pablo Vargas scored twice and Josh Hays added a goal to pace the Mustangs. Hays, Travis Freeman and Alex Thompson had assists for Lakewood Ranch.

Manatee 1, Riverview 1: Gil Guzman's goal with 5 minutes remaining, assisted by Aidan Grumley, secured the tie for the Hurricanes (1-1-1).

This story was originally published November 30, 2017 at 11:08 PM with the headline "Manatee’s Graham scores 29 in win over Bradenton Christian."