Sharks show they're still 'Elite'

BROOKSVILLE --

As soon as the realization came over Tyler Bergantino, his shoulders slumped, his expression saddened.

"Last home game" he bemoaned to some of his teammates as they departed through the corridors of the Nature Coast gym.

The 6-foot-9 senior center will never again officially play on the Sharks' home court. That was the bad news for Nature Coast Tuesday night.

However, it won't be because the Sharks' season has come to a close. Far from it, after another dominant postseason performance, a 54-40 win over Hudson in a Class 5A, Region II semifinal.

The victory awarded Nature Coast (26-1) the opportunity it has sought all along: a third straight trip to the Elite Eight and a last chance for this group to advance to the FHSAA Finals next week in Lakeland.

By virtue of where they fall in the region bracket, the Sharks must travel to Gainesville-Eastside for Saturday's 5A-II final at 7 p.m.

No Hernando County team had ever previously made two Elite Eight appearances, consecutively or otherwise. In three years Nature Coast has now done it more than all the other county program's combined.

This is also the fourth year in a row a local squad has made it this far – Springstead went to the 4A state title game in 2009 – after that hadn't been achieved since Hernando High did so in 1967.

"We're back, but we're not satisfied," Nature Coast Head Coach Dave Pisarcik said. "The last two years we were sort of happy to be there. Now we're going in on a mission. The mission is to find a way to win it."

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For a brief while, it appeared the Cobras (19-11) might just have another upset up their sleeve.

On Thursday they stunned Eustis, 52-44, crashing the party on what many had always assumed would be a 5A-7 title game rematch between the Panthers and Sharks.

With its own raucous cheering section to rival the home fans on the other side of the filled-up gym, Hudson stifled Nature Coast for much of the first quarter.

The Sharks didn't score until Bergantino hit a free throw at the 3:43 mark. Their first field goal didn't come until Blake Lowman found Bergantino for a dunk at 2:07.

Yet the Cobras simply couldn't take advantage. That slam, the first of three by Bergantino in the period, made it 4-4.

Nature Coast suddenly came alive offensively for the remainder of the quarter and led 14-7 heading into the second.

"Give a lot of credit to Hudson," Pisarcik said. "They came in and just played hard.

"But I think once we put Donovan (Ingram) in the game, he created that spark. He's so good at creating for others; he's the X-factor that got us going."

The speedy Ingram, a senior All-County guard from 2010-11, has come off the bench all season. His numbers in this one were modest – five points, three assists, one steal – though he certainly made an impact.

"Be myself, play Nature Coast basketball," Ingram said of his mindset when he entered the game. "But also try to attack. They were playing man-to-man (defense) and we don't normally get that. I tried to attack and use my strengths."

From that point the Cobras never seriously challenged. The Sharks held them to eight points or less in every quarter but the fourth, when Hudson knocked down a barrage of late threes.

"We're pretty good defensively and when we do make mistakes we've got Tyler back there," Pisarcik said.

Bergantino, a 6-foot-9 senior, posted 22 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, which doesn't account for the shots at the basket that he altered.

"It's a credit to our guards," Bergantino said. "They really did what they're supposed to do. Very rarely did their big guys do a post move, so I could just get a rebound. I didn't have to defend."

The defense did a good job of locking down Hudson's leading scorer, senior guard Jamal Branco. Averaging 15.8 points coming in, he totaled 10.

Pisarcik said the plan was to limit Branco's touches, not only to stymie his scoring but keep the other Cobras from working off him.

Zack Petersen and Skylor Pryor each had 10 points; no one on Hudson had more.

John Parker tallied 11 points for Nature Coast. Rohan Blackwood added 11 rebounds, and Lowman six assists and three steals.

Now the Sharks will hit the road, behind four straight double-digit playoff triumphs won by an average of 16.8 points.

"It'd be real heartbreaking if we lost," the senior Lowman said of Saturday's contest. "There's a little bit of pressure on us. All four years comes down to one game."

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Can't make it to Gainesville for Saturday night’s game? Follow @herntodaysports on Twitter or Hernando Today on Facebook for live updates.

Qtr. Scoring	1	2	3	4
HUD	7	7	8	18	—	40
NCT	14	11	9	20	—	54

Hudson (40): Petersen 4 0-0 10, Pryor 3 2-2 10, DiSanto 2 2-2 6, Simister 0, Branco 4 2-5 10, Durham 1 2-4 4, Charles 0, Johnson 0, Pearson 0. Totals 14 8-13 40.

Nature Coast (54): Parker 5 1-2 11, Blackwood 1 1-2 3, Bergantino 9 4-5 22, Davila 0, Lowman 1 4-4 6, Ingram 1 3-8 5, Martin 2 0-0 4, J. Mazzia 1 1-2 3, Hessler 0, S. Mazzia 0, Finlay 0, Beavers 0. Totals 20 14-23 54.

Three-point field goals: HUD 4 (Petersen 2, Pryor 2); NCT 0.

Total fouls: HUD 20; NCT 16.

Technical fouls: none.

Fouled out: Branco (HUD).

Records: Hudson (19-11), Nature Coast (26-1).

5A-II Recap

02-16:

Nature Coast 68, Wesley Chapel 53

Hudson 52, Eustis 44

Citra-North Marion 53, St. Johns-Bartram Trail 49

Gainesville-Eastside 60, St. Johns-Creekside 43

02-21: