NCT Wins as Silvestri Shines

DADE CITY - Playing in a do-or-die district tournament game didn't unnerve Joe Silvestri. Neither did playing in front of a college scout.

Instead it seemed to bring out the best in the Nature Coast Technical senior, who tallied a career-high 31 points along with 11 rebounds and three blocked shots, all in front of the watchful eyes of a Valdosta State University scout. He also knocked down four three-pointers and went 11-of-11 from the foul line.

Silvestri's efforts paced the third-seeded Sharks in an easy 77-40 victory over sixth-seeded Wiregrass Ranch High Wednesday night in a Class 4A, District 8 Tournament quarterfinal at Pasco High.

"I told Coach (Dave) Pisarcik I didn't really want to know (about the scout)," Silvestri said. "But he said 'go out and play. Be you, be the player you are.' It turned out I got a career high, so that was fortunate.

"I'm proud of myself but I'm more proud of the team. We put a whoopin' on them."

Terry shines early

Silvestri had help from fellow senior Reshad Terry, who continued a recent run of spectacular play with 21 points and eight rebounds.

Terry tallied 12 points and four boards in the first quarter, helping Nature Coast (19-7) open up a 20-6 advantage it would never come close to relinquishing.

"Joe has been stepping up all year, doing his thing," Terry said. "I'm trying to help the team any way I can."

Senior point guard Bryant Pent, who had seven points and seven assists, dished twice to Silvestri for three-pointers in the second quarter, the second one opening up a 20-point lead, 30-10.

The Sharks led 38-16 at halftime, with Silvestri and Terry combining for 28 points.

"Those two guys have been playing well now, even in practice," Pisarcik said. "They know it's their senior year, they need to make the best out of it. They're busting their butts and it showed tonight."

Pent and reserve Tevin Drake accounted for the other 10 first-half points, with five apiece.

"It's the district tournament," Pisarcik said. "The boys know the importance of this game. It's lose and go home. I told our guys 'don't waste no time.'

"We had a great year, but if we lost tonight, that season wouldn't have mattered. So I told the guys 'go get it.' And they did that. They competed for the full four quarters. I'm proud of them tonight."

The Sharks never let down, scoring 20, 18, 18 and 21 points over the four respective quarters. The final minutes played under a running clock when the lead reached 35 points.

Wiregrass Ranch (7-19) got 11 points and five blocks out of center Eric Williams. No one else scored in double figures for the second-year Bulls, playing their first-ever district tournament game.

NATURE COAST 77, WIREGRASS RANCH 40
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
Wiregrass Ranch 6 10 15 9 - 40
Nature Coast 20 18 18 21 - 77
Wiregrass Ranch (40): Carey 1 1-2 3, Lewis 1 2-2 4, Williams 4 2-2 11, Cooper 1 0-0 2, Thomas 3 0-0 7, Tringali 2 1-1 5, Jo. Montojo 2 0-0 4, Manion 1 0-0 2, Pangborn 1 0-0 2, Manning 0 0-2 0, Burns 0, Lockley 0, Ja. Montojo 0, Emery 0. Totals 16 6-9 40.
Nature Coast (77): Silvestri 8 11-11 31, Terry 7 7-9 21, Adams 3 1-1 8, Pent 1 5-6 7, Orgass 1 1-2 3, Drake 2 3-4 7, Meier 0, Pelaez 0. Totals 22 28-33 77.
Three-point field goals: WGR 2 (Thomas, Williams); NCT 5 (Silvestri 4, Adams).
Total fouls: WGR 23; NCT 11.
Technical fouls: none.
Fouled out: none.
Records: Wiregrass Ranch (7-19), Nature Coast (19-7).