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Hernando Today

It's How You Finish

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By MARTY MILLER

Hernando Today correspondent

Published: February 17, 2008

OCALA - In the end, the final score came out the way Hernando Christian Academy basketball team Head Coach Bill Brooks wanted as the Lions bested Ocala-St. John Lutheran in the Class 1A, District 6 semifinals held at Meadowbrook Academy in Marion County, 79-48.

But for a few minutes of the first quarter, the Lions did not look like world beaters as the Saints kept the score close.

But after jumping to a 19-12 lead after one quarter, HCA finally got organized in the second period and outscored St. John 23-11 in the period as it cruised to an easy win.

"I think overall, we played good," said Brooks afterward. "We came out a little tight and then we played better after that. We got into the flow of the game and I think our defense carried us tonight."

The win put the 19-2 Lions into their first-ever district final the following evening against top-seeded Lecanto-Seven Rivers Christian Academy. Seven Rivers advanced by toppling host Meadowbrook in the other semifinal, 56-41.

The victory by HCA also guaranteed the Lions their first trip to the regional tournament as the first and second- place teams in a district each advance.

Misfiring early

Early on against St. John, HCA had trouble hitting its shots. In the first quarter, the Lions went 8-for-26 from the field but in the second quarter, they connected on 10-of-17 shots.

HCA also dominated the boards as it out-rebounded St. John, 46-27.

"We worked hard on the boards tonight, but we've worked hard on that every day in practice," said Brooks. "I think everything took care of itself once we got the lead."

The Lions jumped to an early 12-6 lead before St. John came back to close the margin to 12-8 late in the quarter.

Ryan Roach, who had a 25 points, scored 15 of those points in the first half to keep the score close.

But in the last four minutes of the first half, HCA finally got its offense in gear as it took off on a 14-3 run to end the half.

Roach led all scorers with 25 points while Mark Pantages had eight points.

Meanwhile, Marty George led the Lions with 15 points while Jake Gaustad helped with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Tim Hellmers added 11 points.

The win was the third this year by the No. 2 seeded Lions over St. John as they have won the other two contests by 42 and 45 points.

"You have to give credit to St. John tonight," said Brooks. "They came in here with one win but they played us hard all night."

Brooks also said that the hard play of the Saints early on kept the score close.

"I think that had to do with the fact that early on we were being out-played and we were taking some bad shots," added Brooks. "But once our shots started to fall and we picked up our defense, we were OK."

Hernando Christian Academy 79, St. John Lutheran 48
STJ   12 11   9 17 -- 48
HCA 19 23 20 17 -- 79
St John Lutheran (48) - Roach 9 6-10 25, Pantages 4 0-0 8, Melendez 3 0-0 6, Weiss 0, Colquitt 1 2-3 5, Poehlman 0, Ohanrahan 1 0-0 2, Kirks 1 0-0 2. Totals -19 8-13 48.
Hernando Christian Academy (79) - George 7 0-0 15, Westfall 3 2-2 8, Hellmers 5 0-0 11, Kessler 4 1-3 9, Gaustad 6 0-0 13, Wilson 0 2-4 2, Eastin 4 2-7 10, Bronson 2 0-2 4, Hunter 3 0-1 7. Totals - 34 7-19 79.
Three-point field goals - Roach, Colquitt (STJ); George, Hellmers, Gaustad, Hunter (HCA).
Team fouls - STJ 18; HCA 14.
Fouled out - Pantages (STJ).
Technical fouls - Gaustad (HCA); St John Coach Bell.
Records - St. John Lutheran (1-18), Hernando Christian Academy (19-2).

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