TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Hernando Today

Wildcats Tamed as Lions Roar, 73-30

ADVERTISEMENT

By RICK FULLER

Hernando Today correspondent

Published: January 6, 2008

BROOKSVILLE – The Hernando Christian Academy Lions (7-2) took the Academy at the Lakes Wildcats (2-8) by the tail and slung them around and sent them right into the loser's bracket on Thursday night in HCA's inaugural Holiday Basketball Tournament.
Holding the Wildcats to just two first-quarter points, the Lions put up 26 en route to a convincing 73-30 victory.
Led by senior point guard Marti George, the Lions applied a man-to-man defense that proved too tough for the 'Cats.
HCA started quick when George stole the ball and drove the lane. Then another steal by Jakob Gaustad, who bounce-passed the ball to teammate Timothy Hellmers for two of his 14 on the night.
The Lions totaled 15 steals on the night, and kept up with relentless pressure that prohibited the Wildcats from getting anything started.
Junior Brett Eastin led all scorers with 15 points and also chipped in with two steals and five rebounds. Clay Kessler was a force on the boards with seven rebounds and freshman Thomas Bronson cleared six off the glass.
Settling in
After the first-quarter drubbing, HCA was able to rest its starters and play everyone. All but two Lions made their way into the scoring column.
With 6:40 left in the second quarter, Eastin drove the lane for an easy two-pointer and 40 seconds later he did the same thing and was fouled completing a three-point play.
From that point, the Lions were able to drive the lane at will against the Wildcats, while George scored 12 of his 14 in the paint.
Academy at the Lakes Head Coach Dr. Brame spoke highly of his opponents.
"We were out-matched, out-quicked," he commented. "They contested our shots a lot better than we did theirs. The core four of our team is sophomores."
The second half both teams started a little cold from the field but once HCA got going the outcome was obvious. The Wildcats were never really in it.
"I know our boys came out to play," expressed HCA Head Coach Bill Brooks. "We practiced hard all through the holidays to come out with intensity and stay focused on our opponent. We didn't know too much about this team before we got some stats on them. I knew they had a couple of players who could do some damage to us."
The Lions concentrated on the two top players for the 'Cats, and played man-to-man and held them down. The Wildcats top scorer, Julian Doromal, struggled with only nine points on the night.
Coach Brooks added, "With this game tonight, not knowing the caliber of the opponents we did play, we could only compare them to a couple of other teams in St. Petersburg and Tampa that beat them fairly soundly too, but they were on a two or three-game win streak coming in here. We are looking forward to tomorrow's championship game."

HERNANDO CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 73, ACADEMY OF THE LAKES 30
Scoring 1 2 3 4
AATL 2 12 11 5 -- 30
HCA 26 25 12 10 -- 73
ACADEMY AT THE LAKES (30) - Kwitko 0 2-2 2, Latalladi-Conner 3 1-3 7, Grossenbach 4 3-7 12, Doromal 3 3-5 9. Totals: 10 9-17 30.
HERNANDO CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (73) - Gaustad 3 0-0 6, George 6 2-2 14, Hellmers 6 0-0 14, Hunter 1 2-2 4, Eastin 5 5-9 15, Kessler 1 0-2 2, Westfall 1 0-0 2, Mikkola 2 0-0 4, Bronson 1 2-4 4, Townsend 3 2-3 8. Totals: 29 13-22 73.
3-point field goals - AL 1 (Grossenbach); HCA 2 (Helmers).
Total fouls - AL 10; HCA 8.
Fouled out - none.
Technicals - none.
Records - Academy at the Lakes (2-8), Hernando Christian Academy (7-2).

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT