On Tuesday night, the Hernando Leopards (7-2) overwhelmed the Weeki Wachee Hornets (0-10) at the Hornets’ Nest. The final was a lopsided 70-45 advantage for the visitors, but the score does not properly show how dominant the Purple and Gold were.
After his team struggled to get off to the strongest starts in some of their previous outings, Head Coach Jake Gaustad’s Leopards made a point of coming out with more fire to begin their contests. Several turnovers were forced entirely due to effort and some rebounds required players to literally go above and beyond.
“We have been working on coming out with more intensity,” said Coach Gaustad. “We’ve been coming out flatter against other teams. So, our goal was to come out with some intensity, put the pedal on the gas and take care of things. I think it’s an overall good win. Our kids had a lot of energy and I’m very happy about it.”
Their efforts certainly paid off on Tuesday as they scored the first 9 points of the contest and jumped out to a 34-12 lead at the end of the half. This was thanks to strong showings from several players including Junior Joseph Rivera (13 points, 4 steals, 3 treys, 1 rebound) who knocked down 4 of his team’s first 7 baskets to give his team a sizeable lead early.
Junior Daniel Marizalde (20 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 treys, 1 block) and Junior Michael Brown (14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals, 2 assists) were the Leopards’ highest scorers on the evening. Sophomore Blake Williams (11 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals, 2 assists) had a strong night all around and impressed his head coach, much like the rest of the squad.
Despite falling behind 40-12 early in the second frame, Weeki Wachee dug deep and played with a lot of heart. Throughout the next six-plus minutes of game time, the Hornets slowed Hernando’s offensive explosion while putting up a few points of their own thanks to Juniors Logan White, Joshia Davis, and Carlos Velasquez. Over this stretch, they hung tough but were still outscored 13-11.
At the half, the visitors were up 30 points, and a running clock was instituted as a result. Despite this, the Leopards’ lead continued to grow until Coach Gaustad began subbing in more backups to give them valuable experience.
“It’s always nice getting [backups] in,” the Leopards’ coach said. “They work hard every day in practice, so they deserve to give it everything they got when they get the opportunity to play. I think they played hard, and they gave it everything. That’s all we ask for […] I’m excited where we’re at and I think that every game I’ve seen us get better – from the 1 to the 12, all the way through.”
Head Coach Marc Cianci and the Hornets are still looking for their first win of the season and will hope to reverse their fortunes on the road against the Pasco Pirates on Thursday. Hernando will look to maintain their momentum and continue working well as a team up and down the roster when they face the Academy at the Lakes on Friday.
