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HCA overwhelms Cedar Key, 63-41

1A-6 BOYS BASKETBALL

Photo by JOE DiCRISTOFALO

HCA senior Josh Westfall poured in a career-high 30 points Tuesday night against the Cedar Key Sharks.

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By C.J. RISAK

Hernando Today correspondent

Published: February 10, 2009

OCALA - The single goal that every coach shares: Be ready.
Be prepared. The people you're coaching may not be the best athletes, the best team, and they may not win every game, but make them the best that they can be. If it goes the way a coach plans it, his team will be playing its best when it counts the most.
An argument could have been made that Head Coach Bill Brooks' Hernando Christian Academy boys' basketball team was anything but at its best when it entered the Class 1A, District 6 Tournament, hosted by Ocala St. John Lutheran.
The Lions' top scorer was out with an injury, the second-leading scorer had been suspended. And the first-round opponent of the fourth-seeded Lions was No. 5 seed Cedar Key, a team they had beaten twice during the regular district season but whom they would face now in a single-elimination format, and without their top two scorers.
An upset in the making?
If Cedar Key thought so, a rude awakening was awaiting it.
The 10-point lead Devon Kuka gave HCA just before the first-quarter buzzer expanded to 35-11 by halftime, and that swelled to 47-18 heading into the fourth period. By game's end, only a 22-14 Cedar Key run in the fourth could trim the final margin to 63-41.
HCA, now 12-11 overall, faces second-seeded Lecanto-Seven Rivers Christian at 6 p.m. Friday. Host Ocala St. John Lutheran, the winner over Leesburg First Academy Tuesday, must go up against Ocala Meadowbrook Academy at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
The championship game is slated for 7 p.m. Saturday.
"We were undermanned and understaffed," said Brooks after the win. "Everybody stepped up and played a great game. We only had six players with varsity experience."
One that stood out in particular was Josh Westfall, who netted a season-high 30 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Westfall was responsible for the 19-9 start by the Lions, scoring 10 first-quarter points. He added six more in the second and hardly let up in the second half, pouring in 14 more points to bring his total to 30.
It was apparent HCA, whatever its shortcomings, was ready to go in this game.
The Lions followed Kuka's buzzer-beating basket to end the opening quarter by scoring the first six points of the second, and that was all they needed to get started toward building their overwhelming 24-point halftime lead -- that and a defense that forced five turnovers in the period while limiting the Sharks to two free throws.
"We wanted to hold their No. 15 (Joseph Bishop) down," Brooks explained. "That was our plan going in. He had 55 points in two games against us."
He didn't this time.
"Sam Kautsky did a great job on him," Brooks said, noting Bishop was limited to four points.
The only kind of offensive flow the Sharks got going came too late, when they outscored HCA 24-12 in the fourth between the points the Lions scored to open and close the period.
"Our defense came alive tonight," said Brooks.
Helping out on offense were Kuka and Kautsky, each scoring 10 and Winsor Sineus with eight. Jacob Crosby's 12 topped Cedar Key; Aaron Esposito contributed 10.
Now comes Seven Rivers, a team HCA defeated in the district final last season.
If the Lions hope to advance to the regional round, a victory will be required, and it won't come cheaply -- the Warriors beat HCA twice during the regular district season.

HERNANDO CHRISTIAN 63, CEDAR KEY 41
Qtr. Scoring           1   2  3  4
Hernando             19 16 14 14 — 63
Cedar Key            9 2 7 23 — 41
HERNANDO CHRISTIAN (63) - Kuka 3 4-6 10; S. Kautsky 4 3-4 11; Westfall 12 4-10 30; Sineus 4 0-0 8; N. Kautsky 2 0-0 4. Totals 25 10-20 63.
CEDAR KEY (41) - Crosby 5 (1) 1-2 12; Bishop 1 2-2 4; Lyons 4 0-0 8; Esposito 4 2-6 10; Lumley 3 1-3 7. Totals 17 6-13, 41.
Three-point field goals: HCA 2 (Westfall 2); CK 1 (Crosby).
Fouled out: none.
Records: Hernando Christian (11-11), Cedar Key (6-13).

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