Eleven HCA Three-Pointers Not Enough

BROOKSVILLE - Senior Marty George paced the Class 1A, District 6 champion Hernando Christian Academy Lions with 26 points last Thursday night.

Teammates Jake Gaustad added five three-pointers for 18 points and Josh Westfall pumped in 17, but that wasn't enough to take down the Class 1A, District 5 runner-up Eagles from Deltona-Trinity Christian at the Lions' Den, 76-68.

With the setback, the Lions (20-3) saw their season close in the Class 1A, Regional II quarterfinal.

No one, however, questioned anyone's heart as both teams played a physical game combining for 38 total fouls.

Match-up issues

HCA had trouble with DTC's (17-10) big men inside, led by 6-foot-4 Andrew Peterkin with 27 points and 10 rebounds and senior center Jacolby Washington's 20 points.

The game began inauspiciously for the Lions as Deltona Trinity won the tip and went directly to its big man inside, Washington, for a two-point lead.

Westfall, a junior, then grabbed a loose ball and scored getting the Lions on the board.

With 6:34 left in the first quarter, George tied the game from the line 4-all by converting two foul shots. He finished the period with 13 points.

At the 4:04 mark of the first quarter, George went spinning through the lane for two, bringing the Lions to within one, 9-8.

Westfall tied the game at 11 at the 2:57 mark, hitting one of his three three-pointers.

Fifty seconds later, George hit a three-pointer to give HCA a 14-11 lead, then drove the lane on the next trip down the floor scoring and getting fouled making the score 16-11 and forcing the Eagles to call a timeout.

The second quarter saw a back and forth battle between the teams with several lead changes.

Gaustad was able to hit both ends of a one-and-one to retake the lead, 23-22.

DTC increased its lead to 33-29 when junior guard Wes Reed stole the ball and went the length of the court for two of his 12.

With less than two minutes remaining in the first half, HCA's Westfall gave his team the lead, 35-31, hitting two of his three three-pointers on the night, within 50 seconds of each other.

The Eagles tied the game, but with 10 seconds left, HCA junior center Clay Kessler nailed a turn-around jumper over DTC's big man, Washington, giving the Lions a 39-37 halftime lead.

Momentum shifts

The third quarter began with DTC over-powering the Lions inside, storming out to a 6-0 run taking the lead, 43-39.

Two quick turnovers by the Eagles and a two-pointer by Kessler, with an assist from Westfall, brought the Lions to within two, and George tied it from the line. The Lions converted 21-of-26 (80 percent) from the line.

Unfortunately for HCA it had trouble hitting from the field. DTC slowly pulled away after that with HCA never getting closer than four points. The loss snapped a 16-game winning steak for the Lions.

HCA Head Coach Bill Brooks described his biggest contributor, George, "He's a great ballplayer. I can't say enough about him or our team. I'm really proud of our boys."

"Two halves," is how DTC coach Brian Soukup described the game. "One half we guarded and the first half we didn't. He's (Washington) our horse. He's our stud fullback in football. He's hard to guard. They did a great job in the second half on him. They were shooting lights out and we couldn't stop 15 (George) on the dribble and we went back to the zone and we were able to stop his penetration."

HCA's previous two losses came at the hands of Lecanto-Seven Rivers Christian. This was its first state playoff appearance and first season reaching a district title game, which it won over Seven Rivers, 73-71 in overtime.

Deltona Trinity Christian 76, Hernando Christian Academy 68
Qtr scoring 1 2 3 4
Trinity 15 22 21 18 -- 76
Hernando Chr. 16 23 12 17 -- 68
Trinity (76) -- Dunn 1 2-2 4, Washington 8 4-9 20, Peterkin 11 5-8 27, Sauri 3 2-7 9, Reed 5 2-3 12, Harvey 1 0-0 2, Copenhaver 1 0-0 2, Raynard 0, Armon 0. Totals 30 15-29 76.
Hernando Chr. (68) -- Kessler 2 1-3 5, Gaustad 5 3-4 18, Westfall 5 2-2 17, Hellmers 0, Gearge 5 13-15 26, Hunte4r 0, Eastin 0, Bronson 0 2-2 2, Wilson 0. Totals 17 21-26 68.
3-point field goals -- TRI 1 (Sauri), HCA 10 (Gaustad 5, Westfall 2, George 3).
Totals fouls -- TRI 20, HCA 18.
Fouled out -- none.
Technicals -- none.
Records -- Deltona-Trinity Christian (17-10), Hernando Christian Academy (20-3).