SHS 'imposes will' on Sunlake 64-37

SPRING HILL - The Eagles have learned how to fly - up and down the court.

Springstead High captured the past two Class 4A, District 8 crowns under Craig Swartout, utilizing a tall frontline that most opponents simply couldn't match.

But the Eagles graduated 6-foot-7 center Ethan Selph, along with athletic power forwards Jeff and Jason Haynes, plus sharp-shooting small forward Tim Hennigan, the county's Player of the Year.

Also Swartout resigned after two successful campaigns at the helm, opting to concentrate on his duties as head softball coach, leaving Springstead to hire its fourth new head coach in five years.

Enter Pat Kelly, a veteran coach out of Delaware who brought an up-tempo style to match a roster now stocked more with athleticism than height.

As a result, the Eagles have a totally new look - yet still the same results. Springstead trounced first-year Land O' Lakes-Sunlake High Thursday night at home, 64-37, to improve to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in 4A-8.

Early threes

Behind a long-range shooting barrage that featured 10 three-pointers, and a pressing defense that produced 26 steals, the Eagles kept the heat on the young Seahawks (1-5 overall, 1-2 4A-8).

Springstead has received a large amount of its offensive production from three players - Dante Valentine, Nehemiah Mason and Dominic Roberson.

However, the other two starters made an impact right out of the gate. Andrew Echanique and Addison O'Neil combined to knock down four shots from beyond the arc in establishing a 12-0 lead.

The Eagles hit five three-pointers in the opening period, getting another from Echanique and one from Valentine, to take a 24-8 advantage into the second quarter.

"They were shooting down there yesterday at the end of practice," Coach Kelly said. "I guess they got warmed up.

"We knew they (the Seahawks) were well-coached. They've got a chameleon kind of defense. I did talk to some people down there where he (Sunlake Head Coach Bob Marinak) coached before. I knew he was a good coach.

"They do a good job defensively. But still, we impose our will on people because of our defense. They were never really comfortable against that defense. They broke us down a few times, but that's one of our strengths."

Michael Cardwell's three at the 3:20 mark of the second quarter pulled Sunlake within seven, 30-23, and Eli Escobar's free throw at 1:51 cut it to six, 30-24.

The Eagles built the lead back to 36-24 at halftime, and then opened up a 20-point edge, 46-25, when Mason nailed his second trey of the third quarter at the 4:12 mark.

Meanwhile the Seahawks went without a second-half field goal until Escobar's three with 24 seconds remaining in the quarter. They managed just four points in that period and 13 in the half.

"We're just fighting the battle of experience," Marinak said. "It's like I told our guys, after spotting them a 12-0 run to start the game, I was pleased with the way we got back in the game.

"Right now we're trying to figure out what makes us successful and what doesn't make us successful. When we run our stuff, we can compete. When we don't, we get beat pretty bad."

Escobar was the only Sunlake player to reach double figures in scoring with 11. Tyler Hisamoto grabbed a game-high nine rebounds while Cardwell and Devin Dorsey each had four steals.

Valentine, Hernando County's leading scorer coming in at 25.2 points per game, paced everyone with 18 points to go along with five rebounds, five assists and seven steals.

Mason tallied 14 points and six rebounds. O'Neil finished with 11 points, including three three-pointers, and eight steals. Echanique had nine points, four assists and three steals.

Roberson, limited by early foul trouble, had five points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

"I just want to see the team improve everyday because their style, that was good preparation for that type of game," Kelly said. "Their style is one you have to adjust to. I think for us, adjusting to their defense wasn't as significant as us imposing our will on defense. And kids knocking down shots."