Thrice As Nice

Something seemed all too familiar about Friday night's match-up of Springstead High and Nature Coast Technical. It was almost as though they had played this game before.

Oh wait, they have - twice.

On Dec. 9 at Springstead, the Eagles downed the visiting Sharks, 63-45. On New Year's Eve in the final of the Indian Rocks Christian School Holiday Tournament, Springstead came out on top again, 51-44.

Rather than offer a fresh storyline, the third chapter of this season's edition of this county and Class 4A, District 8 rivalry produced the same old song and dance. The Eagles triumphed, 69-50.

"It's tough to beat them anytime," Springstead Head Coach Pat Kelly said. "They're a well-coached, spirited bunch."

In front of the typical large, raucous crowd that this rivalry draws, Nature Coast (11-7 overall, 6-5 4A-8) showed that spirit early, taking a 30-25 lead into the intermission.

But the unbeaten Eagles stayed that way by blitzing the Sharks in the second half, 44-20, to improve to 17-0 overall and 12-0 in the district.

They also clinched the county championship at 5-0, making this the fifth straight season they've at least earned a share of it. Last year they split it with Nature Coast.

Three-point barrage

The Sharks hit four of their five three-pointers in the opening quarter, scoring the first nine points of the game on two treys from Mike Fields and another by Jake Meier.

A 19-15 advantage heading into the second quarter was erased when Addison O'Neil stole the ball and took it all the way to hoop for a layup and one, making it 22-19 in Springstead's favor.

Yet Nature Coast rallied back in front on a Mike Adams' three with 1:35 remaining in the half, 26-25. Fields provided two more buckets to make it a five-point edge heading into halftime.

"We wasn't worried about it," Springstead senior Isaiah Mason said of the mindset at intermission. "We just knew we had to play 'D' (defense). We played man 'D.' We wasn't worried about it."

Mason scored eight of his game-high 27 points in the third quarter. Dante Valentine hit him for a fast-break dunk following an O'Neil steal to tie the game at 35.

Mason's midrange jumper at the 2:56 mark put the Eagles ahead for good. Valentine found Domnique Roberson for two jumpers and hit one of his own just before the horn to make it 44-39.

The Sharks didn't have a field goal in the final period until a Fields' putback with less than three minutes to play. By that point Springstead had opened up a 65-42 lead.

"We played tough defense on them and took away the open looks they had at the beginning of the game," Kelly said. "Then we started going to the basket more instead of passing the ball around and letting them trap us.

"We changed the defenses on them. They didn't get into the rhythm they had in the first half."

Mason had nine rebounds to go along with his scoring. Valentine had 15 points, six assists, six steals and five boards. O'Neil chipped in 10 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

Roberson contributed eight points and 10 rebounds, and Kelly praised his defense on Nature Coast's top scorer Adams, who ended up with just 10 points.

Fields paced the Sharks with 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals.

"I think we played well and executed our game plan in the first half," Nature Coast Head Coach Dave Pisarcik said. "They're 17-0 for a reason. They've got great players and they're playing well."

So ends the Springstead-Nature Coast rivalry for another year, unless, of course, they meet in the 4A-8 championship game.

"I'm glad it's over with playing them, but we might see them in districts," Mason said. "We're still having to prepare for them."

SPRINGSTEAD 69, NATURE COAST 50
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
Springstead 15 10 19 25 - 69
Nature Coast 19 11 9 11 - 50
Springstead (69): Roberson 4 0-2 8, O'Neil 2 6-10 10, Mason 13 1-4 27, Valentine 4 6-8 15, Latimer 0, Steadman 2 1-1 5, Wild 1 0-0 2, Inniss 0 2-2 2, Sabaski 0, Maragh 0. Totals 26 16-27 69.
Nature Coast (50): Adams 3 3-4 10, Fields 5 0-1 12, Drake 2 2-4 6, Meier 1 5-6 8, Lowman 2 1-2 6, Bergantino 2 1-2 5, Waddy 1 0-0 2, Lynch 0 1-2 1, Williams 0. Totals 16 13-21 50.
Three-point field goals: SPG 1 (Valentine); NCT 5 (Fields 2, Meier, Lowman, Adams).
Total fouls: SPG 20; NCT 18.
Technical fouls: none.
Fouled out: Valentine (SPG), Drake (NCT).
Records: Springstead (17-0 overall, 12-0 4A-8), Nature Coast (11-7 overall, 6-5 4A-8).