Power shifts to Sharks

Dante Valentine, Domnique Roberson and Isaiah Mason sat side-by-side in the front row at midcourt, symbols of Springstead's past dominance in Hernando County hoops.

All they could do was watch as Nature Coast served notice that the present belongs to the Sharks.

Even without district implications and the Eagles coming in with an uncharacteristic losing record, what has become the county's premier basketball rivalry still drew a large crowd Tuesday night.

Those people witnessed Nature Coast do something it hadn't since its inaugural 2003-04 season - win at Springstead's gym, 74-40.

"It means so much to us," Nature Coast forward Adam Smith said. "For our team to come in here and do this, it's great."

Long run of success

Even before Valentine, Roberson and Mason led Springstead to a state runner-up finish last season, the road to the county championship went through the Mariner Boulevard campus.

The Eagles have won at least a share of the past five county crowns, going 32-2 in county play over that span, with only road losses at Nature Coast in 2005-06 and 2007-08.

Even this season, although Springstead sits at 2-5 it has recorded wins over Hernando and Central.

However, the Sharks (9-1) proved a far greater obstacle. Nature Coast rolled right from the start, bursting out to a 20-point lead in the opening quarter.

That period was capped by Donovan Ingram stealing the ball and knocking down a desperation three-pointer as the buzzer sounded, making it 28-8 in the Sharks' favor.

Blake Lowman, who had 10 points, four assists and three steals, hit on a pair of treys and had eight points in that quarter.

"Blake came in and worked extra this weekend," Nature Coast Head Coach Dave Pisarcik said. "That raised his confidence today. It's a credit to him the way he put extra work in."

Smith took over in the second with nine points, doing most of his damage (14 points, 10 rebounds) in the opening half as the defense paid more attention to center Tyler Bergantino.

"We knew they were going to do that to Tyler," Smith said. "Coming in I had to free myself because when they double-teamed him, they were leaving me wide open."

Springstead was successful in limiting Bergantino, holding the 6-foot-9 sophomore to seven points, five rebounds and four blocks. But Smith, Lowman and Ingram (13 points) picked up the slack.

The Sharks held as much as a 37-point advantage late in the third quarter. Reserve Caleb Martin provided the cherry on top, bringing the crowd to its feet on a breakaway dunk with 31.4 seconds left in the game.

"Last year they beat us pretty handily every time we played them," Pisarcik said. "One of our goals this year is a (county) championship. In order to obtain that, you've got to beat who is on top of the mountain. We've got one more (Feb. 5 at Nature Coast) against them.

"...Since I've been here we've never beaten Springstead in this gym. It's a good feeling to beat them in their own gym. It's a big win. The kids are excited. But realistically, district play is what matters."

Picking up the pieces

For a Springstead program that had only dropped six games combined the previous two seasons, the reality of rebuilding has hit hard.

"Nature Coast is well-coached," Springstead Head Coach Steve Thompson said. "They came out and took us out of everything we wanted to do offensively.

"Bergantino has got some work to do, but he's not going to be a bad ball player. The kid that hurt us was Adam Smith. He hurt us tremendously tonight. We didn't do a good job of rotating in zone. But you've got to give them a lot of credit

"I think what hurt us, I thought our kids did not step up to their level of intensity."

Nick Steadman paced the Eagles in scoring with 11 points. He was the only starter that returned from last season's team which seemingly hovers over the current, inexperienced squad.

"This bunch, even though they know they're not that team, they know we don't have the team they had last year, but they still need to play better," Thompson said. "And I think when you're carrying a legacy like that, it becomes too much of a burden on a young team."

NATURE COAST 74, SPRINGSTEAD 40
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
Nature Coast 28 16 19 11 - 74
Springstead 8 13 7 12 - 40
Nature Coast (74): Dennis 4 0-1 9, Smith 6 2-4 14, Bergantino 2 3-9 7, Lowman 3 2-2 10, Ingram 5 1-2 13, Lynch 4 0-2 8, Whitsett 2 2-4 6, Emerson 1 2-2 5, Martin 1 0-1 2, Jackson 0, Waddy 0, Kinney 0, Parker 0. Totals 28 12-27 74.
Springstead (40): Inniss 1 1-1 3, Alvarez 0, Vanlow 3 0-1 6, Steadman 5 0-0 11, Wild 3 1-2 8, DeCroix 2 1-3 5, Maggard 1 0-0 3, Townsend 1 0-0 2, Smith 1 0-2 2, A. Rivera 0. Totals 17 3-9 40.
Three-point field goals: NCT 6 (Lowman 2, Ingram 2, Dennis, Emerson); SPG 3 (Steadman, Wild, Maggard).
Total fouls: NCT 12; SPG 22.
Technical fouls: Pisarcik (NCT-coach), Thompson (SPG-coach).
Fouled out: none.
Records: Nature Coast (9-1), Springstead (2-5).