Prep Basketball | Bayshore girls roll into Smoothie King finals

Bayshore held Brandon to two points in the fourth quarter and scored 17 of the game's final 19 points to score a 50-43 win Tuesday and clinch a spot in Wednesday's Smoothie King Classic championship game at 6:30 p.m.

BHS (7-8, 3-3 5A-11) struggled early, slipping into a 15-4 and trailing until there were 4:35 left in the fourth quarter. Bayshore's defense created havoc for most of the game. The offense finally started to click when the Bruins penetrated off the dribble and dumping off to their post players for easy layups.

"We had things going earlier during the game we just didn't capitalize," head coach Jamaal Sanders said. "We had good guard play from Anna Albers. She kind of got us into some things. She penetrated and got the ball down to our post. She was huge."

Forwards Alexus Norman and Jojo Muldoon led BHS with 21 and 14 points, respectively. Bayshore will go for its third straight Smoothie King title in the championship game against Bradenton Christian. Brandon (7-8, 5-1 Class 6A-District 7) will play Sarasota Christian for third place at 3:30 p.m.

BRADENTON CHRISTIAN 49, SARASOTA CHRISTIAN 44 -- Bailey Sikkema scored 14 points and the Panthers held off the Blazers for a 49-44 win in the semifinals on their home court.

McKenzie Lantz led all scorers with 19 for Sarasota Christian. BCS (9-2, 2-1 Class 2A-9) will try to end Bayshore's run of Smoothie King titles at two in the championship game Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The Blazers (3-11, 1-2) play Brandon in the third-place game at 3:30 p.m.

ENGLEWOOD LEMON BAY 42, CARDINAL MOONEY 38 -- The Cougars' disappointing start to the Smoothie King Class leaked into the second day Tuesday when Lemon Bay used a balanced effort to beat the Cougars, 42-38, in the consolation bracket.

No Manta Ray (7-10, 0-2 Class 6A-10) scored more than 11 points - Lauren Maheu had 11 and Shannen Smith finished with 10 - and still Mooney (4-10, 1-7 Class 4A-District 9) had to settle for a spot in the tournament's seventh place game. Cardinal Mooney, which was led by Jacqueline Kulle's 13 points Tuesday, will play Lecanto Seven Rivers Christian (5-8, 1-1 Class 2A-District 4) at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Lemon Bay plays St. Petersburg Shorecrest Prep for fifth place at 12:30 p.m.

SHORECREST PREP 52, SEVEN RIVERS CHRISTIAN 38 -- The Chargers cruised past the Warriors in a consolation game and into the fifth-place game with a 52-38 win. Shorecrest will meet Lemon Bay at 12:30 on Wednesday. SRC will open the day's slate at 9:30 a.m. against Cardinal Mooney.

Boys Basketball

SOUTHEAST 62, CAPE CORAL 57 -- The Smoothie King Classic has been, at times, a showcase of Corey Davis' athleticism. In each of Southeast's first two wins, the

forward has thrown down a transition dunk with defenders chasing him down. At the end of the first quarter during the Seminoles' semifinal game against Cape Coral on Wednesday, the senior flew in for a putback to tie the game.

Three quarters later, the Noles were still tied and Davis had one last chance to soar. Alex Taylor drove along the baseline with the Seahawks' defense unsettled in transition and drew a pair of defenders. The forward forced a shot off the rim and the right side was clear. Davis climbed again and tipped the rebound home for the lead. Five seconds later, Southeast sealed a spot in the championship with a 62-57 win against Cape Coral in Bradenton.

"That's Corey," senior guard Tre Alexandria said. "Corey's gonna get up."

At 6 feet, 4 inches and 185 pounds, Davis is a power forward for Southeast (10-4, 5-1 Class 5A-District 11) only because the Seminoles lack height. He jumps passing lanes like a wing and can get hot from the perimeter like a guard. He nailed a pair of 3-pointers Tuesday for six of his 20 points and also collected a pair of steals, one leading to a runout dunk.

The Noles, however, need him to be a major factor on the glass and as he skied for tip-ins and offensive boards he led Southeast with eight rebounds. This season, he's second on the team behind 6-foot-4 guard Ronald Taylor.

"That's what we want him to do," head coach Floyd Watkins said. "We want him to use his athleticism and when you combine athleticism with hustle it translates to a lot rebounds. Offensive rebounds is way of creating a brand new possession for you, sometimes with easier results."

A day earlier, the Seminoles corralled 51 rebounds to beat Out-of-Door Academy in the Bradenton Christian School gymnasium. On Tuesday, the Seahawks (8-6, 3-4 Class 6A-District 10) outrebounded the Noles, 34-21. Davis' offensive rebounds were critical in preventing Cape Coral from running away.

Although Southeast used its press to run out to a 10-0 without the Seahawks getting up a shot, the Seminoles trailed 41-31 during the third quarter. After a pair of free throws by Taylor, Davis triggered the 16-5 that sent the Noles into the third quarter with a 47-46 lead.

Cape Coral set up in the half court and Southeast's ball pressure forced it to extend its offense. A pass swung from the top of the key to the right wing and Davis jumped the passing lane. With a defender running with him, the forward slammed home a dunk to cut the Seahawks' lead to six.

Another steal got Alexandria a layup and trimmed the lead again, and a quick outlet pass by Taylor off a rebound on the Seminoles' next possession gave Davis another layup.

"That's what we want from him," said Alexandria, who finished with 18 points, seven assists and five steals. "We get Corey to dunk it livens the team up and we get more transition points."

By the end of the quarter, the Noles had a lead and wouldn't trail again. With 12 seconds left, Cape Coral shooting guard Jonathan Moreno knotted the score with a corner 3. Southeast had to push and Davis was set up for the game-winning putback.

Now the Seminoles will have a chance to repeat as Smoothie King champions. At 8 p.m. Wednesday, the Noles will close out the tournament against the host Panthers.

"We're looking forward to the atmosphere tomorrow and getting to play one of the better teams in the county," Watkins said. "It was a little bit harder than last year, but guess what: Not everything's supposed to be easy."

BRADENTON CHRISTIAN 72, BAYSHORE 35 -- The Panthers are headed to the Smoothie King championship for the second straight year after blowing out the Bruins, 72-35, in the semifinals.

Three BCS (13-2, 4-0 Class 2A-District 9) players scored in double figures, led by senior shooting guard Ryan Leunk's 19. Senior guard Jake Lister, who scored his 1,000th career point during a first-round win against Riverview Providence Christian on Monday, added 15 in the rout. Miguel Rodriguez was BHS' lone player in double figures with 11.

Bayshore (6-8, 2-4 Class 5A-11) will play for third place against Cape Coral at 5 p.m.

BRADEN RIVER 68, OUT-OF-DOOR 52 -- The Pirates bounced back from an opening round loss to Cape Coral and earned a chance to play in Wednesday's fifth-place game with a 68-52 thumping of Out-of-Door in a consolation game.

BRHS, which lost in the final seconds Monday, got 18 points from wing junior Deoni Cason and 12 from senior post player Tyler Dyson to send the Thunder to Wednesday's seventh-place game. Junior guards Kendall Johnson and Andrew Berg led ODA with 14 points each in the loss. Braden River (6-6, 1-1 Class 7A-District 11) will meet St. Petersburg Dixie Hollins (3-7, 0-3 Class 6A-District 9) in the fifth-place game at 3 p.m. Out-of-Door (8-4, 4-1 Class 3A-District 9) plays Providence Christian (6-6) for seventh at 11 a.m.

DIXIE HOLLINS 79, PROVIDENCE CHRISTIAN 57 -- The Rebels regrouped after falling to Bayshore in the first round by beating the Knights, 79-57, in a consolation game. Hollins advances the fifth-place game, where it will play Braden River at 3 p.m. Providence goes to the seventh-place game and will play Out-of-Door at 11 a.m.

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Prep Basketball | Bayshore girls roll into Smoothie King finals ."