By STEVE JACKSON
The South Shore Five high school basketball teams take a holiday break with the two top teams so far, the 6-2 Sumner Stingrays and the 7-4 East Bay Indians, staying busy in holiday tournaments. All five schools have regular season games scheduled for Jan. 7, 8 and 10.
Sumner, with new head coach Augustine Gaddis, went 2-1 last week, trouncing hapless Brandon High 83-49 last Friday but dropping a nailbiter, 70-69, in overtime to Gaither High. The Stingrays also picked up a decisive victory over Plant City High early in the week, 74-63. The ’Rays are 1-0 in 7A District 11, tied for first with Plant High and Lennard High. After a Dec. 20 clash in Riverview with 6-5 Winthrop College Prep Academy at 6 p.m., Sumner has a 12:30 p.m. clash with Clearwater on Dec. 26, followed by two more games in the same tourney Dec. 27 & 28. Sumner hoopsters are averaging about 67.7 points per game and giving up about 52.2.(See articles and photos on Sumner High sports by Francis Fedor in The Observer News print and digital editions weekly.)
Longhorn senior Richard Sykes takes a shot in the land while facing pressure from Riverview senior Adrian Rodriguez.
Lennard sophomore Terry Wood battles for a rebound against Shark senior Taj’drick Randolph Jr. early in the Longhorn 55-42 win over the Sharks.
Longhorn junior Noah Jorden and junior Enyer Hernandez battle for position in the Lennard win over Riverview.
Francis Fedor Photos
Lennard senior Nate Montalvo looks for options while bringing the ball up court vs. Riverview on Dec. 13.
East Bay High, coached by Yusef Hemmings, has dropped three games straight to put its overall mark at 7-4, with a tough out-of-state opponent, the 7-0 Upperman High Bees from Baxter, TN, scheduled Friday, Dec. 20. Tournament play continues Dec. 21 and 22 against unnamed opponents. The EB Indians are looking to get back on the winning trail after having had a heartbreaking 55-52 defeat to rival Spoto High last Friday. The Indians are scoring at a 55.6 points per game clip while yielding 50.5 points per game on average. Coach Hemmings is leaning on senior Kyree Williams, at 13.8 points per game and 2.9 steals per game. Senior Nicholas Ghent has been providing 6.6 rebounds per game along with 7.5 points per game.
Other offensive support for the Indians has come from junior Curry Staples with 7.1 points per game and junior Lennox Duggn with 4.6 rebounds per game. Junior Mohsin Hemmings has contributed 2.9 assists per game and 2.8 steals per game, along with senior Lamardea Andeerson, guarding the paint with .6 blocks per game. The Indians are 0-1(overall at 7-4) in 5A District 9, which is led by Braden River High at 2-1 (overall at 4-4), followed by EB at 0-1 and Southeast High at 0-2 (overall at 4-4).
Meanwhile, Spoto High, of Coach Wyman Reed, has scrambled to a 5-6 overall mark with 1-0 in 5A District 9, which is good for a first place tie with Jesuit High, which is also 1-0 and 8-1 overall. Third place in this division is held by Braden River High at 2-1 and 4-4 overall. The Spartans, as mentioned, upset East Bay behind the stellar play of Spoto juniors Jalen Antonio and Jesse Harden. Antonio dumped in 14 points and grabbed 10 boards for a double-double. Harden netted 8 points, snared 13 rebounds and had three blocks. Also making large support for the Spartans are junior Jerren Rodriquez, with a 13.6 points per game average, and hustling senior Donovan McSwain, whose stats show his versatility with 10 points per game, along with 3.4 assists per game, 1.6 steals per game and 1.1 blocks per game.
Spoto dropped a close one to Lennard last Friday, 46-39, but bounced back the next night to edge Tampa Bay Tech 52-48.
The Spartans have a chance to “get fat” when school resumes in 2025. Spoto’s schedule calls for three straight games against under .500 opponents on Jan. 7, 8 and 10: Durant at Spoto and Robinson High and Brandon on the road. All games start at 8 p.m.
Lennard High, meanwhile, under Head Coach Christopher Putnam, was 2-1 last week. The Longhorns are paced by junior Devin Freeman and senior Richard Sykes, both hitting slightly over 10 points per game and averaging about 3.5 steals each per game. Other contributors include the junior Jorden brothers, with Nathan Jorden averaging 7.3 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game and Noah Jorden averaging 4.6 points a game and 2.7 rebounds per game. Senior Nate Montalvo and senior Makai Hills are also contributors to the Horns. Montalvo averages about 9 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game with Hills hitting for a 6 points per game average and grabbing 4.4 rebounds per game. Eric West makes his presence on defense, averaging one block a game.
Lennard senior Makai Hills looks to create after pulling down a rebound in win over the Sharks.
The Horns win over Spoto early last week was sparked by Freeman with 14 points and three steals. The next night Lennard was whipped by the 10-4 Chamberlain Storm, 68-44. The Horns showed resilience by coming back Friday, Dec. 13, to dominate the Riverview High Sharks 55-42. Lennard plays in 7A District 11 and is 1-0 to tie Plant High, also 7-1 overall, for first place. Lennard picks up hoop play in the new year at 6-3 Plant City High Jan. 7. The Horns then host Middleton High Jan. 8 and currently undefeated Newsome High on Jan. 10. All boys games start at 8 p.m.
The Riverview Sharks, of coach Tony Corpening, continue to struggle. The Sharks fell to 2-7 overall last week, losing three games. The week started with a close loss to Newsome High, 41-35. From there it got worse for the Sharks, who were ripped by Armwood 79-47 and then fell Friday, 55-42, to neighborhood rival Lennard, 55-42. Riverview has not announced any games over the holiday break. The Sharks pick up the season Jan. 7 with East Bay at Riverview, followed by King High on Jan. 8 and visiting Durant High on Jan. 10.