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Hernando Today

Sharks Start Stretch Run In Style, 63-36

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: January 7, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - Over the next few weeks, Nature Coast Technical has some challenging Class 4A, District 8 games on its schedule.

Wednesday night's home contest versus Hernando High didn't prove to be one of them.

Behind 21 points from Mike Adams, the Sharks thoroughly dominated the Leopards in the first game of the New Year for both teams, 63-36.

"Our guys get up for a game like this," Nature Coast Head Coach Dave Pisarcik said. "It's a county rival. A couple of our boys used to play for their team. They were ready to play. I knew it was a big one for them.

"…We've got a tough schedule. We've got Central Friday, Pasco Saturday. Then we've got Zephyrhills, Hudson, Springstead. That's the top four teams around and we get them all in one week.

"We've got to come out hard in practice and get ready as a full group."

Bergantino debuts

That full group comment referred to the surprising debut of center Tyler Bergantino. The 6-foot-7 freshman was expected to miss the entire season with a fractured growth plate in his knee.

He entered the game with 2:50 left in the third quarter to a rousing ovation and promptly registered his first prep basket five seconds later on a layup off a feed from Mike Fields.

Bergantino ended up with three points and a rebound in just under three minutes, and Pisarcik said the process of getting him back into the flow would go day-by-day.

"He busted his butt off to get where he's at," Pisarcik said. "He was playing at a high level and had a terrible thing with the injury. He rehabbed and rehabbed. He was supposed to be out for the season. It's like Christmas all over again.

"Nature Coast has never had a big man of that caliber and he's only a freshman. He works hard and he's a great kid. The difference he makes in the game, offensively and defensively, he changes a lot."

Long before Bergantino took the court, however, Adams left his mark on the game. With two free throws and a pair of three-pointers, the senior accounted for Nature Coast's (9-4 overall, 5-2 4A-8) first eight points.

He added two more treys in the first minute of the second quarter, sandwiching a Fields' basket off a Blake Lowman steal, to open up a 21-8 advantage.

"We got players on our team that are friends with all those guys and people that transferred from their school," Adams said. "So I guess it's a rivalry.

"We shoot for 15 minutes everyday. We take a lot of shots. When you come out and hit the first few shots, you start to get into the rhythm of the game."

The Sharks went on an 11-0 run to begin the second period, held a 31-16 halftime lead and a 49-22 edge at the end of three.

A hoop from Howie Williams around the four-minute mark of the fourth quarter made it 61-26 and initiated a running clock.

Aside from Adams, who had seven rebounds and two steals to go along with his point total, the next highest scorer for Nature Coast was Jake Meier with nine. However, 10 Sharks tallied at least one point.

The top scorer for Hernando (5-7 overall, 2-6 4A-8) was Robert Huggins, who didn't play until late in the game but managed to put up nine points. The Leopards had not played since Dec. 19.

"I thought we were real rusty," Hernando Head Coach Mark Latsko said. "The schedule I inherited didn't have us playing in a Christmas tournament and my practices over the holiday weren't very well attended and it showed tonight in a big rivalry game we'd have liked to perform well in.

"We need to rebound the ball better. We haven't rebounded the basketball very well all year. We need to continue to work hard at practice learning basic basketball fundamentals."

NATURE COAST 63, HERNANDO 36
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
Hernando 8 8 6 14 — 36
Nature Coast 13 18 18 14 — 63
Hernando (36): Stephens 1 0-0 3, Walters 2 0-0 4, Bronson 1 2-4 5, Wilson 1 0-0 2, Steitz 1 0-0 3, Huggins 3 3-4 9, Delaine 2 1-2 5, Knapp 1 2-2 5, Thomas 0, Roberts 0, G. Jackson 0, Owensby 0, W. Jackson 0, Boyer 0. Totals 12 8-12 36.
Nature Coast (63): Adams 6 5-5 21, Fields 2 1-3 5, Drake 2 0-0 4, Meier 3 2-2 9, Lowman 1 2-2 4, Emerson 2 4-7 8, Williams 2 0-0 4, Lynch 1 2-2 4, Bergantino 1 1-3 3, Waddy 0 1-2 1, Diven 0, Brennen 0. Totals 20 18-26 63.
Three-point field goals: HER 4 (Bronson, Steitz, Stephens, Knapp); NCT 5 (Adams 4, Meier).
Total fouls: HER 21; NCT 12.
Technical fouls: Bronson, Stephens (HER).
Fouled out: Bronson, G. Jackson (HER).
Records: Hernando (5-7 overall, 2-6 4A-8), Nature Coast (9-4 overall, 5-2 4A-8).

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

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