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Snake Bitten...Fifth-Seeded Hudson Ends Springstead's Three-Peat Quest, 48-44

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: February 17, 2008

DADE CITY - At one point in the season, Springstead High looked so dominant over its Class 4A, District 8 opponents, a third straight district championship seemed like a foregone conclusion.

Who could have predicted then what happened last Friday night in the Class 4A, District 8 Tournament semifinals at Pasco High?

Fifth-seeded Hudson High, a team that had lost twice to the Eagles during the regular season including a 31-point defeat in December, stunned top-seeded Springstead, 48-44.

"I thought the kids played hard. We didn't get any offensive rhythm," first-year Springstead Head Coach Pat Kelly said. "When we had some, somebody would make the decision to do some individual stuff.

"There was a lot of effort on both sides. Hudson has had a storybook season with a storybook ending. Everything lined up for them. They took advantage and they earned it."

History for Hudson

For the Cobras (15-12) this marked the first time in school history that they will go on to regionals, regardless of the result of the championship game against Pasco High.

Head Coach Jason Vetter dubbed it "the biggest victory in the history of the program" after his squad held the normally high-scoring, up-tempo Springstead (22-5) offense well below its 65.5 points per game average.

On Dec. 7, Hudson lost to the Eagles 63-32, but only fell by 10, 66-56, on Jan. 17. This time around it changed up its defensive strategy.

"Just great man-to-man defense," Vetter said. "We hadn't played man defense on them. I kind of thought we'd have success since they hadn't seen us do that.

"We closed out on shooters. We took over at the rim and rebounding. We did not give up offensive rebounds."

The Cobras led by as many as six in the second quarter, and after a last-second exchange of three-pointers by Austin Gibbons and Nehemiah Mason, Hudson took a 24-21 advantage into halftime.

The lead had gone to 37-33 at the end of the third quarter, but Springstead stayed in it despite never going back in front.

Mason hit a floater while driving through the paint to pull the Eagles within one, 41-40, with 1:30 left.

Jarrod Branco, who went 9-of-10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, notched his lone field goal of the period on a drive with 56 seconds remaining to make it a three-point game.

Dominic Roberson went 1-for-2 in a one-and-one situation, then the Cobras caught a break when Springstead was whistled for an intentional foul.

Branco made only one of the free throws off that foul, but possession remained with Hudson and Branco knocked down two from the charity stripe to make it 46-41 with 14.5 ticks on the clock.

Mason pulled the Eagles within a basket pulling up to convert his fifth three-pointer of the game, giving him 19 points, with eight seconds left. However, he had to commit the ensuing foul to stop the clock, fouling out.

Once more Branco stepped to the foul line and sank both shots with 2.5 seconds to play, providing the final cushion.

Springstead played without point guard and leading scorer Dante Valentine, the junior missing his fifth consecutive game with an injured elbow.

Aside from Mason, no one else reached double figures in scoring. Isaiah Mason had eight points, while Roberson and Ben Noury each tallied six.

"We didn't execute well today," Kelly said. "They played good defense but we've got to work on execution, moving the ball from side-to-side, making better cuts, better screens, seeing our teammates.

"...(Valentine) does some things I've never had a kid do before as far as the ability to disrupt a team. But I still feel we're a competitive team. We still dog them, it's going to be a dogfight regardless and it was."

Hudson received 16 points from Branco and 11 from Tyler Hooten. It moved on to the final, where it lost to the host Pirates, 60-48.

The Eagles faced the end of a once promising season, unable to participate in the state playoffs for the first time in three years.

"I'm proud of them. I thought it was a good season, 22-5, I've won 22 games maybe a handful of times," said Kelly, who came to Springstead after a long career in Delaware. "I'm happy with the effort they made. I'm not happy tonight but that's the way it works.

"We'll come back and try to get done what we didn't get done this year."

HUDSON 48, SPRINGSTEAD 44
Qtr. scoring 1 2 3 4    
Hudson 5 19 13 11 — 48
Springstead 8 13 12 11 — 44
Hudson (48): Cartagena 2 0-0 4, Gibbons 2 0-0 6, Brom 3 1-6 7, Branco 3 10-12 16, Hooten 3 2-4 11, Rice 1 2-4 4, Solis 0. Totals 14 15-26 48.
Springstead (44): Roberson 2 2-4 6, O'Neil 1 0-2 2, I. Mason 3 1-1 8, Noury 2 2-3 6, N. Mason 7 0-0 19, Echanique 1 0-0 3, Steadman 0. Totals 16 5-10 44.
Three-point field goals: HUD 5 (Hooten 3, Gibbons 2); SPG 7 (N. Mason 5, Echanique, I. Mason).
Total fouls: HUD 11; SPG 20.
Technical fouls: none.
Fouled out: N. Mason (SPG).
Records: Hudson (15-12), Springstead (22-5).

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

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