By STEVE JACKSON
Sumner High continues to dominate boys basketball among the five South Shore teams. The Stingrays of Coach Ryan Bethoney have won six and lost three. Sumner is the lone squad with a winning record as the five teams pause for the Christmas and New Year holidays. The Stingrays are in first place in 7A-Division 11 with a 1-0 mark. Trailing in this division are the Riverview Sharks at 0-1. Three other teams, Lakewood Ranch, Newsome and Strawberry Crest, are 0-0 in Division 11.
The Spoto Spartans of Coach Waymond Reed beat the Riverview Sharks 47-43 last week but then lost 53-37 to 8-2 Bloomingdale High. The Spartans have the second best overall record in the South Shore at 4-7. Spoto’s Jose Deleon is the top scorer and rebounder for the team at 14.5 points per game and 11 rebounds. However, Deleon did not play in the Spartans’ win over Riverview. Spoto raced out to a 44-25 lead over Riverview after three quarters. Riverview outscored Spoto 18-3 in quarter four, but the Spartans hung on for the win.
Spartan junior Donovan McSwain topped the point scoring chart with 13. Senior Lorenz Jefferson threw in 11 points, and senior Deacon Spencer added 7 points and five rebounds. Soph Jesse Hardin contributed 4 points and grabbed five rebounds for Spoto. Junior Jerrus Rodriquez helped the Spartans with 3 points and five rebounds.
Spoto has a ton of ground to makeup in 5A-Division 7, which is led so far by King at 3-0 and Blake at 2-0. Prior to a must-win home game Jan. 12 with winless Brandon, the Spartans have tough matches in 2024 at Sumner, Jan.9, and at home, hosting 11-1 Blake, Jan. 10. All three games tip at 8 p.m. The Spartans are down in sixth place in Division 8 at 0-3. Spoto is 4-7 overall. Spoto has scored 537 points in its 11 games for a 48.5 average. The Spartans have given up 597 points, a 54.2 points average for the season.
The 4-8 Lennard Longhorns of Head Coach Chris Putnam took care of business, 70-59, over East Bay last week. The Longhorns stand at 1-1 in 6A-District 10, well behind Division-leading Bloomingdale at 4-0 in the division and 8-2 overall.
Four other teams, including East Bay High, are 0-1 in D10.
Horns junior Arcadian Davis is sparking Lennard with 16.3 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game. Sophomore Jacob Morley is hitting at 7.3 points a game and 3.1 rebounds a game. Soph Devin Freeman and junior Makai Hills are also aiding the Horns offense and defense. Another top contributor is junior Richard Sykes with 9.3 points per game and 7.9 rebounds per game.
Lennard has a tough schedule once 2024 gets here. The Horns play Bloomingdale Jan. 9, host Tampa Bay Tech Jan. 10 and travel to play at Newsome Jan. 12. All three games start at 8 p.m. Lennard has tallied 627 points on the season for 52.2 points per game average. The Horns have coughed up 724 points for 60.3 points per game defense average.
Both Riverview, for the first time this season, and East Bay, for the second time, claimed hard-to-come-by hardwood wins last week.
Head Coach Anthone Corpening’s Sharks of Riverview went to 1-8 on the season by topping 1-10 Strawberry Crest 68-53 at home. A late Riverview rally fell short in a Dec. 12 defeat at Spoto 47-43. Sumner thumped Riverview 67-49 to end the week.
The Sharks are looking forward to the possibility of adding another win or two in early 2024. The winless Brandon Eagles host Riverview for a Jan. 9 match. Then, Jan. 10, the 1-8 Middleton Tigers visit Riverview. Both games tip at 8 p.m.
East Bay High, of Head Coach Jeff Turner, utilized junior guard Aaron Quarteman’s 21 points to topple the Armwood Hawks 71-64 in a big win for the Indians last week. Kamren Lovett, a hustling senior, took care of the paint for the Indians by plunking in 14 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. East Bay’s balanced attack in its victory was helped by soph Curry Staples with 12 points, senior Amare Baran with 10 points and junior Nicholas Ghent with 7 points and six rebounds.
The Indians are now 2-8 at the break and 0-1 in 6A Division 10. Offensively, East Bay has scored 525 points for a 52.5 average per game. The Indians have given up 633 points for a 63.3 points per game average on defense. After the holiday break, East Bay hosts Newsome, Jan 9, and Chamberlain, Jan.10. Both clashes start at 6:30 p.m. EB travels to Plant City for an 8 p.m. tip Jan. 12.
