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Hernando Today

Ringing In New Year On Top?

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: December 29, 2008

Springstead Head Coach Pat Kelly wouldn't say as much. The veteran mentor insisted that his team would focus only on the game in front of it.

But one opposing coach knows better, from experience. Nature Coast's Dave Pisarcik, whose team lost to the Eagles, 63-45, on Dec. 9, clearly spelled out his thoughts on who would win the Indian Rocks Christian School Holiday Tournament, taking place during the next three days in Largo.

"I really like Springstead's chances," Pisarcik said.

Springstead and Nature Coast are two of the eight boys teams involved in this holiday event. An eight-team girls' tournament, including Central High, will also take place.

Today Nature Coast's boys open with Hollywood Christian at 1 p.m. At 4 p.m., Springstead will face Mitchell.

River Ridge, Naples-St. John Neumann, Tarpon Springs and host Indian Rocks Christian make up the remainder of the boys' field. All teams are guaranteed three games in the bracket format.

"We're going to try to beat Mitchell at this point," Kelly said. "We'll worry about the rest of it as it comes."

Flying high

Nevertheless, no one can discount the Eagles' dominance over the first month of the season.

They come into the tournament 8-0, with an average margin of victory of 30.9. The closest anyone has come to beating them was Citrus, who Springstead thumped 71-54 on Dec. 19.

Kelly's up-tempo system caters to his squad's tremendous athleticism, particularly the starting line-up of Isaiah Mason, Addison O'Neil, Domnique Roberson, Nick Steadman and Dante Valentine.

Mason, a 6-foot-5 senior center, leads the team in scoring (19.8 points per game) and blocks (2.9) to go along with 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals.

Valentine, a senior guard, is second in scoring at 16.8, followed by fellow senior Roberson at 10.6. Both average a team-high 3.6 steals. Valentine dishes out 4.9 assists and Roberson pulls down 7.9 rebounds, both team-bests.

A bench led by senior Ben Noury and sophomore Sal Latimer has provided some depth. The Eagles are collectively averaging 72.4 points and 17.0 steals.

However, Springstead looked very strong at this point last season before losing to Hudson in the district tournament semifinals. That ended a string of two straight district titles.

To that end, Kelly has stressed trying to better prepare his club for the rigors of the postseason. This tournament is part of that process.

"I think it's very important," Kelly said. "We've got a lot of kids who share the workload. I think it's good for your team in terms of the whole team progressing. We've been getting better play from the bench. This gives us another opportunity to build depth."

As for Nature Coast, at the 6-3 the Sharks are looking for an opportunity to build on something, as well.

"We're facing a top team from Miami," Pisarcik said of Hollywood Christian. "We know nothing about them, they know nothing about us. We just want to give the kids the experience of seeing someone different.

"...Wins or losses, we don't know what to expect. But we want the experience of playing in this type of atmosphere."

Led by senior guards Mike Adams, Mike Fields and Jake Meier, Nature Coast won three straight prior to Christmas break as it tries to build momentum for the season's second half.

"I think we're playing pretty well," Pisarcik said. "We're competing for the second or third seed in the district. That's where we want to be. We're happy where we're at right now, but we need more post presence, to rebound better and be more consistent in our guard play."

Central switches up

In an attempt to save money on travel expenses, the Central girls pulled out of the Ida S. Baker Christmas Tournament in Cape Coral. The Lady Bears intended to return to that event for a third straight year.

Instead they will head to Indian Rocks Christian, taking part in a tournament that includes Clermont-East Ridge, St. John Neumann, Hollywood Christian, Gilmour Academy (Ohio), Walsingham Academy (Va.), Indian Rocks Christian and Central's opponent for today's 11:30 a.m. game, St. Pete Catholic.

"There are a few teams from out of state," Central Head Coach Penny Gressick said. "There are teams with pretty decent records. We just want to go and be competitive. At this point we need to go and compete and be ready for districts."

At 7-4, the Lady Bears are enjoying a somewhat surprising measure of success. They stand 3-1 in Class 5A, District 7, in line to earn their first regional berth since 2003.

Sophomore point guard McKenzie Burns paces the team at 15.7 points, 5.4 assists and 4.7 steals per game. Twin sisters Amanda and Blair Morris average 12.9 and 8.9 points respectively, while Tikiera Relaford is collecting 11.1 rebounds.

"I'm pretty satisfied," Gressick said. "We've played teams we've struggled with in the past, come out and beat them or at least stayed with them.

"We switched up our defense from the beginning of the year, tried to pick up our intensity a little bit."

HCA hosts game

Due to two teams pulling out, Hernando Christian Academy will not hold a holiday tournament this season.

However, tomorrow at 4 p.m., the Lions (4-5) will host Academy at the Lakes in what is being called the HCA Holiday Championships.

AT A GLANCE

WHAT: IRCS Holiday Tournament

WHO: Boys - Hollywood Christian, Indian Rocks Christian, Mitchell, Nature Coast, River Ridge, Naples-St. John Neumann, Springstead and Tarpon Springs. Girls - Central, Clermont-East Ridge, Hollywood Christian, Gilmour Academy (Ohio), Indian Rocks Christian, St. John Neumann, St. Pete Catholic and Walsingham Academy (Va.).

WHEN: Dec. 29-31

WHERE: Indian Rocks Christian School

FORMAT: 8-team bracket format with three guaranteed games for each team.

DIRECTIONS: Take Suncoast Parkway to Interstate 275 heading south. Take exit 31 (Martin Luther King Jr./Ulmerton Road) onto Ulmerton Road (State Road 688 West) toward St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport. The school is located at 12685 Ulmerton Road in Largo.

Sports writer Chris Bernhardt Jr. can be reached at (352) 544-5288 or cbernhardt@hernandotoday.com.

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