By FRANCIS FEDOR
Sumner basketball bounced back after its first loss at East Bay to return home on Tuesday, Dec. 3, and rout Riverview, 60-21. The ’Rays followed that win with a much closer game, again at home, winning 57-52 over visiting Tampa Bay Tech. The squad ended the week with a trip to Plant City on Friday, Dec. 6, and left with a 68-31 win over the Durant Cougars.
The Stingrays continued their voracious pressing defense and ran out to a 22-6 first quarter lead over the Riverview Sharks.
Sumner senior Karsten Walker takes the ball to the hoop. Walker has gotten off to a fast start and is the points leader for the ’Rays
Stingray soph Immanuel Kelly goes past Riverview defenders for a layup in a 60-21 win over the Sharks on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
Sumner senior Devin Baker chases down the ball to attempt to keep it from going out of bounds.
The Sharks ran into early foul trouble with the team reaching the 5 five-foul mark at the 3:12 mark in the first quarter and sending Sumner to the line for each successive non-shooting foul. It didn’t get much better for the Sharks in the second quarter. The ’Rays challenged every pass and forced the opponent offense into bad decisions with the ball, leading to turnovers and foul trouble. The half ended with the Stingrays holding a commanding 46-12 lead. The second half was a quick half for the Stingray fans as a running clock was implemented once the ’Rays had a 35 point advantage. The fourth quarter saw the Stingrays score a lone point as the game was out of reach for the visitors by halftime. The tandem of Karsten Walker and Immanuel Kelly combined for 33 points, just over half the team total. Walker scored 18 and Immanuel Kelly added 15, with the majority of those points coming in the first half.
Francis Fedor Photos
Riverview junior Grady Blackmon III disrupts Sumner sophomore Anthony Bailey in a layup attempt in first half action vs. Riverview.
Next up, the Stingrays remained home to face Tampa Bay Tech on Thursday, Dec. 6. The 2-5 Titans, who have played a bit of a tough early season schedule, arrived at Sumner HS ready to challenge. The first quarter saw a back-and-forth game with the Stingrays going down early, coming back to tie at 12 and end the quarter down 18-14. The second quarter saw more of the same with the ’Rays falling behind, coming back to tie and holding a 2 point lead at the half. Sumner persisted and distanced themselves in the third, going up by 12 points to end the third. Unlike the East Bay game (that team now at 7-0), the Stingrays hung in and weathered a fourth quarter run by the Titans to secure the back-to-back home wins before heading to Durant to close the week. Senior Karsten Walker continued his early season success with 15 points, and fellow senior, Devin Baker, added 15 for the night.
Francis Fedor Photos
Riverview junior Grady Blackmon III disrupts Sumner sophomore Anthony Bailey in a layup attempt in first half action vs. Riverview.
The ’Rays ended the week facing Durant, setting up an intriguing matchup between head coaches. Sumner head coach Augustine Gaddis faced off against Cougar head coach Mitch Harley, a player Gaddis coached during his time at Lennard HS. The Stingrays got out to an early 26-9 lead and never looked back. Sophomore Anthony Baily led all scorers with 22 points and Devin Baker added 17 points for the victors. The ’Rays will face a tough test as 5-0 Plant City comes to Sumner HS on Tuesday, Dec. 10, followed by Gaither on Dec. 12, then ending the week traveling to Brandon.
For more South Shore action, look for the article by Stephen Jackson in this edition.
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