SPRING HILL – The Springstead Eagles (15-10) blasted the Belleview Rattlers (7-16) in a 60-30 domination in the 5A District Quarterfinal on Monday night. The Red, White, and Blue played a strong, focused game to double up the visitors on Greg O’Connell Court.
“We hadn’t been playing very well in the last two weeks, and a lot of it was just toughness,” said Eagles Head Coach Matt McGarry. “We were being out-toughed. We had a long conversation. There’s very few things that
you can match in this game, but you can match toughness […] I thought we did that and then some tonight.”
Toughness. That was the word of the day. Belleview was going to bring their own version of it, so the Eagles’ head man knew his squad was going to need their own grit, too. It showed.
After a late season stretch that saw McGarry and company drop three of their last four, the home team came out refocused and began to exert their will early.
After Belleview cut Springstead’s lead to one on a free throw midway through the opening frame, the Eagles went on a tear. Over the next 7:44 of game time – nearly an entire quarter-worth – McGarry’s crew scored 14 straight points. Senior Ryan Sayre (10 points, 6 steals) kicked off the streak with 2 steals and scored 4 of their next 6 points.
Senior Forward Zion McKenzie (18 points, 3 steals, 3 rebounds) did the rest. Six points and two steals helped to create breathing room as he outright took the ball on back-to-back possessions to build his team’s advantage.
Springstead would head to the break outscoring Belleview 19-4 across the final 11 minutes and 18 seconds of the first half. Not insurmountable, but the Rattlers would have needed to score in bunches and hold McKenzie and the Eagles in check.
That did not happen. 20 of the next 26 points went the home team’s way as the senior forward took over in the third. A shot from downtown, a pair of layups, and a free throw across the first four minutes and change of the penultimate frame iced the contest.
With the score sitting at 36-16, Junior Christian Cordero knocked down a pair of treys as part of another 13-0 run for the Eagles. Coach McGarry also made sure to shout out Junior Gage Winter, who logged a rebound and a basket during this stretch, for his performance on Monday.
Despite logging several “DNP’s” (did not play) on the season, Winter impressed coaches with his toughness in practice on Sunday, and that earned him a start. His final stat line read four points, two assists, and two rebounds. “He was fantastic tonight,” McGarry said of Winter. “I am very proud of him.”
The Red, White, and Blue will look to bring the same energy against top seeded Leesburg in the district semifinal on Wednesday. As the head coach put it: “We are going to need it, because if Leesburg is anything, they are real tough […] We’re going to have to be as tough as possible.”
