Eagles Share County Crown

SPRING HILL - It seems only fitting that on Springstead High Senior Night, Eagle senior Nehemiah Mason hit on a game-high 28 points to lead Springstead to a 65-54 win over Central last Friday night.

The win, which moved the Eagles' record to a 21-4 mark, also helped the club tie Nature Coast Technical for the Hernando County Athletic Conference title with a 5-1 record.

The win came as a direct result of a 17-1 Eagle run to open the game.

The victory was even more impressive because it was done without the help of leading scorer Dante Valentine, who missed the game with an injury.

But Central, which concluded its regular season with a 6-19 record and trailed by as many as 21 points, kept the game from being a blowout.

"I'm not surprised that it didn't happen," said Springstead coach Pat Kelly later. "Teams are playing a lot better now than they were at the beginning of the year. So no, I wasn't surprised we didn't blow them out. Central played hard the whole game and I think we did as well."

The Eagles put the game out of reach early on as Mason scored nine points in the early 17-1 run.

In the fourth quarter, Central tried to rally back and cut the lead to eight points before Mason scored 12 points in the last quarter.

Besides Mason, senior Andrew Echanique helped the Eagles with 11 points while Isaiah Mason had eight and Addison O'Neil, Dominic Roberson and Ben Noury all added six points.

For Central, Darryn Frazier led the Bears with 21 points while Joe Lula had 11 and Guan Whitsett added nine.

Springstead 65, Central 54
CEN 3 10 15 26 -- 54
SPG 17 14 15 19 -- 65
Central (54) - Sheffield 1 1-2 4, G. Rodriguez 1 0-0 3, Frazier 6 7-7 21, Fulton 1 0-0 2, J. Lula 5 1-2 11, Barnes 1 0-0 3, Whitsett 4 0-0 9, M. Lula 0 1-2 1.
Totals - 19 10-13 54.
Springstead (65) - N. Mason 12 1-6 28, O'Neil 3 0-0 6, Roberson 3 0-0 6, Noury 3 0-0 6, Echanique 4 0-0 11, I. Mason 3 1-1 8. Totals - 28 2-7 65.
Three-point field goals - Frazier 2, Sheffile, G.
Rodriguez, Barnes, Whitsett (CEN); N. Mason 3, Ecghanique 3, I. Mason (SPG).
Team fouls - CEN 10; SPG 10.
Fouled out - None.
Records - Central (6-19 overall, 2-4 HCAC); Springstead (21-5 overall, 5-1 HCAC).