Over the holiday break, the county played host to a pair of boys basketball tournaments. Most recently, Springstead held the 10th annual Glory Days Greg O’Connell Holiday Shootout.
On Friday night, the Eagles collected a trophy for winning the consolation bracket of their own 3-day event following a 64-47 win over Mitchell.
Senior Ryan Sayre led the way with 18 points, including a pair of made 3-pointers, and also had two steals. Jamin Pond added 16 points and five rebounds, while Zion McKenzie totaled 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Sam Franco scored 10 points to go with six assists and also hit on two 3-pointers.
The win pushed Springstead over .500 at 7-6 and followed up a 46-32 victory over Leto on Thursday. The Eagles did not play Wednesday and automatically went into the consolation bracket in order to make the 7-team field work logistically.
Plant defeated Sickles in the championship bracket final on Friday 52-46. Sickles had knocked off Nature Coast the previous day 73-41. The Sharks (7-7), who downed Mitchell 63-59 on Wednesday, won Friday’s third-place game 61-51 over Land O’ Lakes.
McKenzie and Nature Coast’s Jayden Simon were each selected to the all-tournament team.
The previous week it was the Sharks hosting the Nature Coast Christmas Tournament. The 3-day, 16-team event saw the host team finish fourth in the ‘B’ bracket with a 45-40 loss to Alonso in the third-place game held on Dec. 28.
Nature Coast won its first game on Dec. 26, 63-45 over Middleton, before losing to Brooks-DeBartolo the next day 57-43. A.J. Ramsaroop was the all-tournament pick for the Sharks.
Two teams from Ohio met in the final of the ‘A’ bracket, with Brecksville-Broadview Heights winning the tournament for the third time in four years, defeating Norwayne. Southeast beat Brooks-DeBartolo to win the ‘B’ bracket.
Hernando’s boys took part in the Hurricane Holiday Classic at Bishop McLaughlin Catholic on Dec. 27-28. The Leopards defeated host Bishop McLaughlin the first day 47-41 behind 14 points and 10 rebounds from Sam Jackson, as well as 12 points and five steals from Michael Brown.
The next day they beat Spring Hill Christian Academy 77-33 with Jackson again leading the way scoring 17 points. Daniel Merizalde added 16 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and three steals, and Joseph Rivera had 12 assists and five steals. Blake Williams scored 14 points and Brown had 12. The Leopards are now 11-3 on the season.
Weeki Wachee played in the Tyler Gray “Trotter” Classic at Clearwater Central Catholic and got its first win of the season Saturday, rolling past Tarpon Springs 83-46. The Hornets, now 1-13, lost to the host Marauders on Friday 70-44.
Springstead’s girls played in the Tampa Bay Christmas Invitational a few days after Christmas at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Complex in Wesley Chapel.
On Dec. 27, the Eagles defeated Wharton 64-32, getting 21 points out of freshman Ariana Willoughby, a double-double from Addisson Osborne with 10 points and 10 rebounds, a near double-double from Briana Coleman with 10 points and nine rebounds, and 11 points out of J’Ziyah Munford.
The next day the Eagles fell 47-36 to Oak Lawn from Illinois. Willoughby with 11 points was the only Springstead player in double figures. Then on Dec. 30, the Eagles lost to Delaware Military Academy 48-33 to drop to 11-4 overall.
Weeki Wachee’s girls went to River Ridge’s Sunrise Irrigation New Year’s Girls Basketball Tournament this past week. On Thursday, the Hornets topped Gaither 33-26, then lost to Neumann on Friday 44-26 and Berkeley Prep on Saturday 50-46 in double OT. Weeki Wachee now sits at 10-4 on the season.
Like the boys team, the Hernando girls played in the Hurricane Holiday Classic and won two games. The Leopards beat East Lake on Dec. 27, 37-32, behind 17 points from Ayana Kincade and 15 from Aislin Ruppe. On Dec. 28, it was a 46-15 thumping of Bishop McLaughlin as Kincade scored 16 and Ruppe added 13 for Hernando (7-5).
