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4A-II BOYS BASKETBALL

Staff photo by BOB EAST III

Kissimmee-Poinciana's Osanto Marc tries to block Springstead's Sal Latimer on a lay-up attempt Thursday night.

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: February 19, 2009

SPRING HILL - For those that still questioned the legitimacy of Springstead High's currently unbeaten season, the Eagles had an answer Thursday night.

Just like they had an answer for everything Kissimmee-Poinciana threw at them during the Class 4A, Region II quarterfinal at the Springstead gym.

The ninth-ranked Springstead Eagles literally blitzed the Poinciana Eagles out of the gate, using their smothering press to open up a 15-0 lead.

Though Poinciana battled back and stayed within single digits for most of the second half, Springstead held firm in front of a boisterous home crowd, improving to 28-0 with a 71-57 victory.

"We came out and separated pretty early with pressure and energy," Springstead Head Coach Pat Kelly said. "To their credit, they brought pressure and did a good job. We knew that was a scrappy bunch.

"To our kids' credit, they answered every run that they had. It's the heart of a warrior in these situations and our kids did it."

This marked the second regional victory in Springstead history, the first one coming in 2000. The Eagles also matched the 20-year-old school record for wins set in 1988-89.

"To me, I've seen what this program is about and it's been a tremendous program," said Kelly, in his second year with the team. "(Former coach) Greg O'Connell did a tremendous job. (Former coach) Craig Swartout won some districts titles.

"O'Connell put his heart and soul into this program. We're just trying to follow in the footsteps."

In another 4A-II quarterfinal, Hudson rallied to upend Groveland-South Lake, 64-62, setting up a rematch of the District 8 title game in Tuesday's semifinal.

At 7 p.m. the Eagles will host the Cobras, a team they've defeated by double figures three times already. St. Augustine travels to Ocala-West Port in the other semifinal. The regional final will take place next Saturday.

Quick strike

Senior Dante Valentine didn't start the game, Kelly calling it a "reminder" to his star point guard, but he entered less than two minutes in and had seven of his game-high 23 points in the first quarter.

Domnique Roberson hit two free throws and followed with two steals and two lay-ups all within about 10 seconds, opening up an 8-0 edge at the 5:56 mark.

Poinciana (16-10) didn't score until a Travis Martinez lay-in with 3:14 to go in the opening period, making it 15-2.

Isaiah Mason, who had 19 points for the game, provided the biggest highlight on a baseline dunk that pushed the lead to 18-4.

Springstead carried a 21-9 advantage into the second quarter, but got out-scored over the next two periods, 31-28.

Poinciana went to its own press and Springstead initially struggled to deal with it, while also losing out badly in the first-half rebounding battle despite a significant size advantage.

A 12-point halftime lead shrunk to six, 40-34, on a jumper by Josh Delgado at 4:07 in the third quarter.

Addison O'Neil responded on the other end with a driving lay-up and converted a three-point play off a putback on the next possession to up the lead back to 11.

The junior O'Neil, typically under the radar behind Mason, Valentine and Roberson, made his presence felt with 10 points, seven rebounds and all-around physical play.

"A big part of me on this team is playing defense," O'Neil said. "Every chance I get I try to bring physicality to the team.

"It (the two baskets in the third quarter) was big. Coach was excited but he just wanted us to go to the rack."

When Mason stole the ball and went the other way for a basket, making it 59-45 with 4:17 to play, Springstead had essentially closed it out.

Aside from his scoring, Mason finished with six rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocked shots. Valentine had five steals.

Roberson posted 15 points and six steals, as well as 14 rebounds as Springstead ended up winning on the glass, 35-24.

"The last couple of Springstead teams didn't make it out of the first round and we wanted to make (advancing) a big part of what we're all about," Roberson said. "We're not here to have fun. We're here to win it all; 27-0 don't mean anything right now. We're 1-0 now."

Korval McElroy had a triple-double for Poinciana with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals, along with five assists. Delgado scored 15 points; Wayne Ricks and Martinez added 12 apiece.

"When you don't come out ready to play, especially against a team like that that plays off so much energy, there's not much you can do about that," Poinciana Head Coach Jay Lunce said. "We had to change up and press a little bit. We still gave away some stuff but we made plays. We just couldn't execute offensively.

"They're a very solid squad. They're not as talented as they are athletic. They make up for it with speed and athleticism."

SPRINGSTEAD 71, POINCIANA 57
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
Poinciana 9 15 16 17 — 57
Springstead 21 15 13 22 — 71
Poinciana (57): Marc 0, Curry 1 2-2 4, Ricks 6 0-0 12, McElroy 5 2-5 12, Delgado 6 2-2 15, Martinez 6 0-0 12, Funk 1 0-0 2, Candelaria 0, Serran 0, Diaz 0, Changa 0. Totals 25 6-9 57.
Springstead (71): Roberson 6 3-4 15, O'Neil 3 4-7 10, Mason 7 4-4 19, Steadman 1 2-2 4, Latimer 0, Valentine 10 3-8 23, Noury 0, Wild 0, Maragh 0, Sabaski 0, Floyd 0, Inniss 0. Totals 27 16-25 71.
Three-point field goals: POI 1 (Delgado); SPG 1 (Mason).
Total fouls: POI 21; SPG 13.
Technical fouls: none.
Fouled out: none.
Records: Kissimmee-Poinciana (16-10), Springstead (28-0).

CLASS 4A, REGION II TOURNAMENT
02-19: Quarterfinals
Springstead 71, Kissimmee-Poinciana 57
Hudson 64, Groveland-South Lake 62
St. Augustine 62, Lecanto 54
Ocala-West Port 65, Ponte Vedra-Nease 58

02-24: Semifinals
Hudson at Springstead, 7 p.m.
St. Augustine at West Port, 7 p.m.

02-28: Final
TBD, 7 p.m.

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

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