District dream becomes reality

With stars Tyler Bergantino and Adam Smith mired in foul trouble, the Class 4A, District 8 championship game figured to turn into a nightmare for Nature Coast.

Instead, the third-seeded Sharks made their sweet dream a reality, getting contributions from unheralded role players to dust top-seeded Lecanto Saturday at Zephyrhills High, 60-38.

That meant the first district championship in team history, plus the first regional home game next Thursday when Nature Coast hosts 4A-7 runner-up Mitchell.

"Being a three seed, we knew it was a three-horse race," Nature Coast Head Coach Dave Pisarcik said. "We beat Wiregrass (in Friday's semifinals), that was one of the toughest games we played all year.

"We're excited about our play. We're peaking at the right time and we're living a dream right now."

Foul plagued

Amazingly, the Sharks (25-3) pulled this off with their leading scorer, Smith, scoring two points and unable to stay on the floor due to foul trouble. He fouled out with 6:52 still to play.

Bergantino, Nature Coast's 6-foot-9 center of attention, also drew some early whistles. He finished with 14 points, but eight of them came in the fourth quarter.

Furthermore, Lecanto (20-5) used a box-and-one defense to prevent guard Blake Lowman from operating as a passer and shooter on the perimeter.

Fortunately, the Sharks didn't need much production from any of them to pull away from the Panthers. Instead, it became the Corey Emerson and Guan Whitsett Show.

Yes, two players who respectively averaged 3.9 and 4.1 points per game in the regular season found the spotlight on one of the biggest stages. Both knocked down a pair of three-pointers in a pivotal third quarter when Nature Coast out¬-scored Lecanto 21-7, building on a 22-17 halftime advantage.

Emerson and Whitsett received open looks as the defense sagged in on Bergantino in the paint, essentially daring the other Sharks to make shots. In this case, they did.

"Most people are focused on Tyler," said Whitsett, who finished with 12 points, three assists and two steals. "Coach says everybody has got to step up and contribute. That's what me and Corey work on in practice."

"You never know what to expect. You never know if the call is going to go your way," said Emerson, having chipped in 11 points, six rebounds and knocked down three three-pointers off the bench. "You've just got to be ready and step up when your name is called.

"They've got to respect Tyler. He's an unbelievable player on the block. You've got to be able to hit shots. You've got to take what the defense gives you."

As surprising as the star turns of Emerson and Whitsett may have seemed, the sophomore Bergantino was far from shocked to see his senior teammates come through

"I wouldn't have doubted it," Bergantino said. "They're working hard in practice. Corey has so much confidence in his shot. I'm 110 percent sure when he puts it up. And G, before during a timeout I said every single shot is going in and all he had to do was shoot it."

The normally high-scoring Panthers didn't have a single player in double figures for points. Veteran Head Coach Chris Nichols, whose team is 0-3 versus Nature Coast this season, opted for a positive approach in his postgame evaluation.

"It stings right now and there's disappointment obviously," Nichols said. "But my thing is I'm a glass half full guy. A lot of teams went home last night. We get to play in the state playoffs.

"...When you go to stop one thing, you're going to give something up. (Whitsett), I wouldn't have expected to him to hit those shots. He did a great job stepping up. Corey stepped up and hit some great shots. That's his thing. Hey, all the credit to them."

Lecanto will travel to 4A-7 champ Ridgewood for its regional quarterfinal on Thursday. The winner of that game will face the winner of the Nature Coast-Mitchell contest, meaning the Sharks could see the Panthers once more.

Regardless of how it plays out, the Sharks were certainly excited about the possibilities going forward.

"It means a lot to be the first team in Nature Coast history to do it (win the district), but the job is far from over," Emerson said. "We want a ring (for a state championship) and we want to go as far as we possibly can to get that ring."

NATURE COAST 60, LECANTO 38
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
Nature Coast 10 12 21 17 - 60
Lecanto 7 10 7 14 - 38
NATURE COAST (60): Byrd 3 2-2 9, Smith 0 2-2 2, Bergantino 6 2-3 14, Whitsett 4 2-2 12, Lowman 1 0-1 3, Emerson 4 0-0 11, Dennis 0 5-10 5, Lynch 0 4-4 4, Kinney 0 0-2 0, Waddy 0, Martin 0, Parker 0. Totals 18 17-26 60.
LECANTO (38): Summers 2 0-0 4, Sawyer 3 2-3 8, Pugh 2 3-6 7, Shinn 1 3-6 5, Grippe 2 2-5 6, Holstein 0 8-8 8, Toyloy 0, Rizzolo 0, Conley 0, Roessler 0, Nichols 0. Totals 10 18-28 38.
Three-point field goals: NCT 7 (Emerson 3, Whitsett 2, Byrd, Lowman); LEC 0.
Total fouls: NCT 20; LEC 19.
Technical fouls: none.
Fouled out: Smith (NCT).
Records: Nature Coast (25-3), Lecanto (20-5).

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)
02-10:
Nature Coast (3) def. Land O' Lakes (6), 48-34
Wiregrass Ranch (2) vs. River Ridge (7), 7:30 p.m.
02-12:
Nature Coast def. Wiregrass Ranch, 57-52
Lecanto def. Zephyrhills, 69-67 (OT)
02-13:
(Championship)
Nature Coast def. Lecanto, 60-38