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Photo by ALICE MARY HERDEN

LAND OF THE GIANTS - Springstead's Mike DeCroix stops in traffic before taking a shot Wednesday night against Ridgewood at Sunlake High.

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: January 6, 2010

LAND O’ LAKES - A year ago, a meeting between Ridgewood and Springstead would have attracted considerable attention, as a matchup of the area's two best teams.

But while the Rams have maintained their usual level of excellence, the Eagles have fallen on hard times as they try to follow up a historic 2008-09 season.

So Wednesday night's contest in the first round of the Sunlake High School New Year's Invitational went predictably, with Ridgewood cruising to a 54-29 victory.

"Our kids right now are inexperienced," Springstead Head Coach Steve Thompson said. "We really thought if we could come out and control the tempo, we'd have a chance to stay in it. We're just not disciplined enough to really maintain that type of system.

"But we took a step forward. I thought our defensive effort was as good as it's been. But we've still got some kinks to work out. The kids have got to be tough defensively and they're just not there yet."

Strong start

Ridgewood (11-3) came in having won last week in its own Christmas tournament, the William G. Hulton Jr. Ram Classic.

The Rams dominated the first quarter to put the game away early, out-scoring the Eagles (3-9) 15-2 in the opening period.

They particularly dominated the glass, out-rebounding Springstead 41-18. Emrah Hamzic led the way in that department with 11 boards.

Mike Wood and Jake Rauh each scored 12 points apiece to share the game's high-scoring honors. Wood added five steals and seven rebounds.

"We weren't as sharp as I had hoped to be," Ridgewood Head Coach Gary Anders said. "I thought we did a good job on the defensive end, especially as patient as Springstead was.

"Offensively, I thought we were kind of sluggish and a little bit tentative. But all and all, we got out with a good win and gave up less than 30 points, so I can't complain.

"…I wanted to see us come out and be aggressive even with not having played in a few days. We wanted to pick up where we left off in our tournament."

Naquan Inniss led the Eagles in scoring with seven points, followed by Nick Steadman and Will Hall each with six. Those three all chipped in three steals, while Rashad Vanlow blocked five shots.

Springstead moved on to play Zephyrhills, an 85-60 loser to Mitchell, on Thursday at 4 p.m.

"It can't do anything but make you better," Thompson said of playing Ridgewood. "That's probably the best team in Pasco County and one of the best coaches I've coached against. Playing against a team like that, no doubt it makes you better.

"By the same token, we've got to start executing better and get better at the cerebral part of the game."

RIDGEWOOD 54, SPRINGSTEAD 29
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
Springstead 2 10 11 6 — 29
Ridgewood 15 11 13 15 — 54
Springstead (29): Inniss 2 2-2 7, Townsend 0 1-5 1, Vanlow 1 2-4 4, Steadman 3 0-0 6, DeCroix 0 0-2 0, Hall 2 2-2 6, Maggard 2 0-0 5, Smith 0. Totals 10 7-15 29.
Ridgewood (54): Wood 5 2-2 12, Rauh 6 0-0 12, Kujak 1 1-2 3, Verra 1 0-0 2, Jones 3 0-0 7, Vazquez 3 0-0 7, Hamzic 3 0-2 6, Keesler 1 0-0 3, Webb 1 0-0 2, Green 0, Ibrahim 0. Totals 24 3-6 54.
Three-point field goals: SPG 2 (Maggard, Inniss); RW 3 (Jones, Vazquez, Keesler).
Total fouls: SPG 8; RW 17.
Technical fouls: none.
Fouled out: none.
Records: Springstead (3-9), Ridgewood (11-3).

SUNLAKE NEW YEAR'S INVITATIONAL
at Sunlake High

01-06
Mitchell 85, Zephyrhills 60
Ridgewood 54, Springstead 29
Sunlake 54, Gulf 46
IMG Academy 62, Wesley Chapel 48

01-07
Springstead vs. Zephyrhills, 4 p.m.
Gulf vs. Wesley Chapel, 5:30 p.m.
Sunlake vs. IMG, 7 p.m.
Ridgewood vs. Mitchell, 8:30 p.m.

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

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