Prep basketball | Southeast boys open Smoothie King Classic title defense by routing Out-of-Door Academy
BRADENTON -- Southeast began its championship defense at the Smoothie King Classic on Monday with 10 days of rust to shake away. The Seminoles hadn't played since Dec. 18 and hadn't had a practice with the full team in attendance since then, either. For eight minutes against Out-of-Door Academy, the Noles were disjointed, and the Thunder was pesky. Until the second quarter began.
Southeast held Out-of-Door scoreless for the first 5:33 of the second period to stretch a two-point lead to 16. The Thunder managed to cut the Seminoles' lead down to nine points during the fourth quarter before a late run let the Noles put away a 66-48 win in the opening round of the Smoothie King Classic at Bradenton Christian School.
"They had missed a lot of open shots, so I knew they would shoot better in the second half," Southeast head coach Floyd Watkins said. "The No. 1 thing when the other team is missing is you've got to be able to get rebounds and not give them open shots, and I think that triggers the fast break.
"It kind of takes on a life of its own at that point."
ODA missed its first nine shots during the second and each one resulted in a Seminole (9-4, 4-1 Class 5A-District 11) rebound. Out-of-Door (7-3, 4-1 Class 3A-District 9) only grabbed one offensive rebound during the frame and on nearly every miss
the Noles were able to race down the floor for a transition bucket.
Southeast forward Corey Davis scored nine of his game-high 22 points during the second quarter. The senior also grabbed nine rebounds for the Seminoles and by halftime the Noles' once-narrow lead was up to 34-15.
"We don't really got a real post, so all of us are really guards," Southeast guard Ronald Taylor said. "Whenever we get the ball, any of us can push and we just like to feed each other."
The Seminoles grabbed 51 rebounds Monday in Bradenton and dished out 15 assists. Taylor finished three assists shy of a triple-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Senior guard Tre Alexandria, who leads the team in scoring and assists, finished with eight points and four assists, plus eight rebounds.
Junior forward Jacob Garrett was the Thunder's only player to score in double figures with 13.
Even during the Noles' incomplete practices they were improving on the game they hope to play this week at Bradenton Christian School's gymnasium. The Benjamin "Buzz" Narbut Gymnasium at Southeast High School has a slightly longer floor than most other high school gyms.
In the fourth quarter, the Noles were able to seal their spot in Tuesday's tournament semifinal -- they'll play Cape Coral at 5 p.m. -- with a final burst.
With the lead down to nine points and three minutes remaining, Southeast closed on a 13-6 run, punctuated with a steal-and-slam by Davis to give the Seminoles a 57-42 lead with 2:20 remaining.
CAPE CORAL 66, BRADEN RIVER 63 -- Brandon Alcide hit a pull-up jumper from the base line to give the Seahawks a one-point lead and Cape Coral held on to beat the Pirates, 66-63.
The point guard finished with a game-high 20 points and forward Cam'ron Blissett added 18 for the Seahawks (8-5, 3-4 Class 6A-District 10) in the victory.
BRHS post player Tyler Dyson led Braden River (5-4, 1-1 Class 7A-District 11) with 18 points. Cape Coral will face Southeast in the tournament semifinals Tuesday at 5 p.m. The Pirates will meet Out-of-Door in a consolation game at 11 a.m.
BAYSHORE 63, ST. PETERSBURG DIXIE HOLLINS 54 -- The Bruins raced out to a 17-point lead and BHS held on for a 63-54 win against Dixie Hollins in the first round of the Smoothie King.
Bayshore (5-7, 2-4 Class 5A-District 11) led 21-4 at the end of the first before the Rebels (1-8, 0-3 Class 6A-District 9) started to slowly chip away. Denny Dessin dropped in 19 to lead the Bruins, who also got 18 points from Bonna Baker and 16 from Jaylen Pavley. BHS will meet Bradenton Christian in the semifinals Tuesday at 8 p.m. Hollins will face Riverview Providence Christian in the consolation bracket at 2 p.m.
BRADENTON CHRISTIAN 86, PROVIDENCE CHRISTIAN 41 -- The Panthers opened the tournament it hosts with a blowout, pounding the Knights 86-41 in the first round.
Four BCS players scored in double figures, led by shooting guard Ryan Leunk's 20. Center JT Noellert dropped 13, guard Jake Lister added 12 and point guard Dominick Otteni scored 10 in the win. Bradenton Christian (12-2, 4-0 Class 2A-District 9) advances to the semifinals, where it will face Bayshore at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Providence (6-5) will face Dixie Hollins at 2 p.m.
Girls basketball
BAYSHORE 52, ENGLEWOOD LEMON BAY 19 -- The Bruins began their Smoothie King title defense with a bang, blowing out Lemon Bay, 52-19, behind a stout defensive effort.
Junior guard Anna Albers paced BHS (6-7, 3-3 Class 5A-11) with 15 points, but Bayshore's suffocating defense prevented the Manta Rays (4-10, 0-2 Class 6A-10) from ever threatening in the first-round matchup.
"We're starting to put our offense together," head coach Jamaal Sanders said. "We scored a lot of easy baskets because we were able to run the floor."
Point guard Jayla Dirden added 12 points for the Bruins, who will meet Brandon in the semifinals Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. Lemon Bay faces Cardinal Mooney at 9:30 a.m.
BRANDON 56, CARDINAL MOONEY 43 -- The Eagles opened the 2015 Smoothie King Classic with the biggest upset, earning an impressive 56-43 win against the Cougars in the first game of the day.
Wing forward Jalyn Spurlin led Brandon (7-7, 5-1 Class 6A-District 7) to the upset with 18 points. Jacqueline Kulle scored 15 for Mooney (5-10, 1-7 Class 4A-District 9) in the loss. The Eagles will meet Bayshore in Tuesday's semifinals at 3:30 p.m. Cardinal Mooney opens the day once again with a 9:30 a.m. start against Lemon Bay.
BRADENTON CHRISTIAN 54, ST. PETERSBURG SHORECREST PREP 32 -- The Panthers protected home court in the first round of the Smoothie King Classic, edging Shorecrest Prep in the first round.
Bailey Sikkema and Kali Gelston each scored in double figures for BCS with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Bradenton Christian (6-2, 2-1 Class 2A-9) advances the semifinals, where it will face Sarasota Christian on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The Chargers (3-10, 1-2 Class 3A-District 8) move into the consolation bracket and will meet Lecanto Seven Rivers Christian at 12:30 p.m.
SARASOTA CHRISTIAN 56, LECANTO SEVEN RIVERS CHRISTIAN 38 -- The Blazers secured a blowout win against Seven Rivers Christian on the opening day of the Smoothie King and will meet Bradenton Christian in Tuesday's semifinals at 6:30 p.m. The Warriors get Shorecrest Prep at 12:30 p.m.
Elsewhere
KINGDOM OF THE SUN TOURNAMENT -- The Lakewood Ranch Mustangs are one of 16 boys teams competing in the 42nd annual prep basketball competition hosted by Ocala Vanguard High School. The tournament features nine Florida schools, six from other states and one from Canada.
In Monday's opening round, the Mustangs fell 66-56 to Cincinnati La Salle. Lakewood Ranch faces Preble High of Green Bay, Wis., at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday.
In Monday's game, Damien Gordon scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds, Blauvelt Georges had 13 points with three three-pointers and four rebounds, and Sam Hester chipped in 10 points and five rebounds.
SUNCOAST HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT -- The Cardinal Mooney Cougars boys defeated the St. Petersburg Lakewood Spartans 60-48 in tournament's opening round Monday.
Emmanuel Lambright led the Cougars with 20 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks. Matteo Whelton added 18 points eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Nick Peacock had 12 points, and Mike Barone had nine rebounds and six points.
QUEEN OF PALMS TOURNAMENT -- The Lakewood Ranch Mustangs girls team fell to Vero Beach 49-46 in the first round of the tournament hosted in Fort Myers.
Senior Kyra Klarkowski scored 16 points to lead the Mustangs. Junior LaDazhia Williams added 12 points, and junior Aleah Robinson chipped in nine points for the Mustangs (12-4), who face Gainesville on Tuesday.
This story was originally published December 28, 2015 at 11:50 PM with the headline "Prep basketball | Southeast boys open Smoothie King Classic title defense by routing Out-of-Door Academy ."