Nature Coast set for semis

ZEPHYRHILLS --

It wasn't always pretty, but in the end Nature Coast pulled to within one game of its stated goal of making the district championship game.

The third-seeded Sharks struggled offensively in the second half, but built enough of a lead early to handle sixth-seeded Land O' Lakes in Wednesday's Class 4A, District 8 Tournament quarterfinals, 48-34.

Nature Coast (23-3) advanced to Friday's semifinals at Zephyrhills, where it will face second seed Wiregrass Ranch at 6 p.m. for a spot in Saturday's final and a regional berth.

"We've been stressing playoff intensity for the last half of the season," Nature Coast Head Coach Dave Pisarcik said. "Honestly I didn't think we came out with playoff intensity. The second quarter we kicked it into gear. We made the extra pass, started finishing a little bit.

"Land O' Lakes is well-coached. A win on the road in the first round against a good team; we're happy with it."

Solid second

As the Sharks move forward through the postseason, they would probably like to bottle up the way they played in the second quarter.

Showing solid ball movement and spacing the floor well, they out-scored the Gators (8-15) 22-8, providing a 29-16 halftime cushion.

A key contributor was sophomore guard Blake Lowman, who finished with 11 points and seven assists.

Almost every time down the floor, Lowman camped out in the right corner beyond the three-point line. As the ball continued to swing to him, he passed to either Tyler Bergantino or Adam Smith in the post for several easy buckets and knocked down a pair of threes.

"It's basically just me and Tyler playing a two-man game," Lowman said. "He gets triple-teamed a lot. It's easier playing with him. There's a lot less pressure on you. It's fun to play with him."

"Everyone is keying in on Tyler," Pisarcik said. "They're packing it in and hoping someone else beats them. That's something Nature Coast has to get used to. He's definitely the focus of the other team.

"We have to adjust. If other people hit shots, if Blake hits shots in the corner, they can't do that. Blake leads the team in assists. He's number one as a sophomore according to MaxPreps in 4A. He sees the floor well and knows he needs to get the ball into Tyler and Adam."

As well as Nature Coast played heading into the intermission, it didn't carry over into the second half as the Sharks went ice cold from the floor.

They scored just 19 points over the final two periods, tallying a combined three field goals and hitting just 12-of-22 free throws.

Land O' Lakes pulled within eight, 38-30, on a three by Jake Cannon with 4:19 to play. But the Gators got no closer. Cannon ended up with 15 points to lead the team.

Guan Whitsett paced the Sharks in scoring with 12 points, including two three-pointers. Bergantino had eights points, seven rebounds and a block; Smith finished with seven points, six boards and two blocks.

Now the Nature Coast season will come down to avenging a regular-season loss to Wiregrass Ranch, 37-32 on Jan. 12.

"The last time we played Wiregrass, they out-hustled us and out-played us," Pisarcik said. "Our guys remember that vividly. We'll be ready."

NATURE COAST 48, LAND O' LAKES 34

Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4

Land O' Lakes 8 8 7 11 - 34

Nature Coast 7 22 7 12 - 48

LAND O' LAKES (34): Jac. Cannon 0, Perry 4 0-1 8, Bartels 1 0-0 2, Thomopalos 2 0-1 4, Jak. Cannon 5 3-4 15, Stover 2 0-0 5, Lloyd 0, Williams 0, Harris 0. Totals 14 3-6 34.

NATURE COAST (48): Byrd 3 1-2 7, Smith 3 1-2 7, Bergantino 4 0-2 8, Whitsett 3 4-5 12, Lowman 2 5-6 11, Dennis 0 2-4 2, Emerson 0 1-4 1, Lynch 0, Waddy 0. Totals 15 14-25 48.

Three-point field goals: LOL 3 (Jak. Cannon, Stover); NCT 4 (Lowman 2, Whitsett 2).

Total fouls: LOL 19; NCT 7.

Technical fouls: none.

Fouled out: none.

Records: Land O' Lakes (8-15), Nature Coast (23-3).

CLASS 4A, DISTRICT 8 TOURNAMENT

at Zephyrhills High

02-08:

Citrus (8) def. Sunlake (9), 39-32

02-09:

Lecanto (1) def. Citrus (8), 59-42

Zephyrhills (4) def. Hernando (5), 63-62 (2OT)