South Shore hoops playoffs this week

Teams get reset in seeded post season

By STEVE JACKSON

The South Shore boys basketball regular season is over.

All public schools and Ruskin Christian School now have one more chance to extend their seasons in their respective playoffs which started Feb. 9 this week. A loss and even that second season is history.

Ruskin Christian is the most likely to advance as the Warriors are a top seed. RCS whipped Palm Grove 91-58 last week to run their record to 21-1. The Warriors cruised behind freshman Effraim Marvin’s 33 points and another freshman Hayden Jordan had 18. RCS’s season-leading scorer senior Caleb Statham put up 17. Frosh Chaz Lewis pumped in 14 points and junior Sam Tuch chipped in 7. Defensively, Marvin was a steals machine. Tuch and Jordan protected the paint and won the rebound battle.

The Warriors under Coach Paul Northrop opened the first round Feb. 9 in the Florida Christian Western Division in Ruskin. A win moves the action to the Providence Christian gym in Brandon Feb. 11. If Ruskin survives both games, the Warriors will play in the district championship at Providence Saturday, Feb. 13 at 2 pm, most likely against Grace Christian of Valrico with a crack at moving forward in regional playoffs.

Sumner High ran its season record to 10-8 last week by topping King 69-67 in overtime, and beating Riverview 61-57 later in the week. Coach Jamie Turner hopes to continue the Stingray winning streak against first round opponent Middleton Feb. 9 in Sumner. The Stingrays beat the 5-8 Tigers earlier in the regular season. A Sumner victory over Middleton set up a Feb. 10 match with the winner of the Jesuit vs. Jefferson game. A loss on Tuesday or Wednesday meant the end of the Rays inaugural basketball season. A victory on both nights kept the post season alive with a Feb. 12 game.

Lennard ended its regular season last week with losses to Freedom and to Spoto despite a strong effort by junior Tremaine Williams. Coach Will Gilford’s 0-16 Longhorns drew a rough opponent in the playoff, facing 18-4 Durant Feb. 9

Meanwhile on Big Bend Road, Coach Dell Chambers East Bay Indians open 6A District 8 playoffs against 8-16 Leto at home. The winner advanced the next night to play the winner of Bloomingdale vs. Brandon. Tampa Bay Tech, the number 1 seed, is the probable foe for the winner Feb. 12. Last week, East Bay ended the regular season at 9-8 by falling to Armwood 71-39 and to Durant 66-46.

Coach Milton Clifton’s 3-10 Riverview Sharks have never recovered from covid-19 issues at the school. The Sharks opened 7A-D8 play with 9-13 Newsome Feb. 9. The Wolves beat Riverview 64-46 back n December. Winner of that game went up against top-seeded Riverview-Sarasota to advance. The Sharks ended the regular season on a 3-game losing streak. Last week on the road, the Sharks fell to Chamberlain, Sumner and Wharton.

The other South Shore team, the Spoto Spartans, faced 5A-D9 opponent Robinson 17-4 to start the playoffs Feb. 9. Coach Danny Gaddis’ squad has struggled to 3-16 season despite the play of soph Benjamin Walker.