In control Springstead completes season sweep of Pasco to take commanding district lead

SPRING HILL - The district has become Springstead High's territory, the Eagles claiming the past two Class 4A, District 8 crowns.

Pasco High, once the class of the district, hasn't found a way to solve Springstead since the Eagles' surprising triumph in the 4A-8 title game two seasons ago.

The two teams met for the second time this season at the Springstead gym Thursday night, ranked first and second in the district respectively. The Eagles beat the Pirates in their season-opener on Nov. 20, 72-69.

By the end of this night Springstead had a commanding two-game lead in the district standings, defeating Pasco, 89-83, to complete the regular season sweep.

"It's a big, big win," said Eagle guard Nehemiah Mason. "We took control of the district with this game."

Mason's huge night

In a game where all five Springstead (11-1 overall, 9-0 4A-8) starters made major contributions, none stood out in the scorebook more than Mason.

The senior scored a career-high 35 points, including 11 in the second quarter when the Eagles began to put some distance between themselves and Pasco (7-3 overall, 7-2 4A-8).

"Just playing hard," Mason said. "My coach told me to step up so I played hard.

"...It feels good but it's all about teamwork. My teammates helped me out to get to 35."

No teammate may have helped out more than Dominic Roberson. Though ironically the only starter who failed to reach double digits in scoring (eight points) he led the team with 14 rebounds, 10 assists and three steals.

Roberson hit Ben Noury for a three-pointer with about a minute left in the first half, then after a basket by Addison O'Neil hit a pair of free throws to give the Eagles a 45-35 halftime edge.

In the fourth quarter, Roberson found Noury for a lay-up, giving Springstead its biggest lead, 74-68, and connected with Mason on a full-court pass that resulted in a three-point play, 80-65.

"We knew coming into this game that it would be a challenge," Roberson said. "We knew it'd be very physical. We made the decision to come out and play as hard as we can no matter what.

"I don't really care about points, as long as we win. I'd rather have a good assist than a good shot.

"I always tell (Mason) when I give him the ball go up instead of the pump fake and you're going to get the foul. He finally listened to me."

Pasco made things interesting late, pulling to 86-81 on a Jobie Elliott three with 1:05 left to play. However, the Pirates failed to cash in on a couple of chances to cut further into the deficit.

T.J. Bryant netted a game-high 39 points, going 16-of-17 from the foul line, to go along with nine rebounds and four steals. Demetrious Larry added 22 points, seven boards, five steals and two blocked shots.

O'Neil had 16 points and nine rebounds for Springstead, while Noury added 15 points with three three-pointers made. Dante Valentine, the team's leading scorer on the season, finished with 11 points.

"This put us in a good position in the district but any night is a battle. Obviously it was a battle tonight, too," Springstead Head Coach Pat Kelly said. "Our kids handled it really well. They had two kids that are difficult to handle off the dribble. They shoot the ball well.

"They played well but we were able to push our advantages and finished it off and got a big win."