By FRANCIS FEDOR
Sumner won a 70-44 thriller on Tuesday, Jan. 14, in the Tank on Senior Night against rival Lennard (7-10). The game was not without its scary moment when senior star Devin Baker fell to the gym floor on a layup attempt. He was helped off the court by the trainer, and his status is TBD. Sumner fell 64-37 at Wharton and 86-47 at Blake against two of Tampa’s top teams and finished the week losing the first of a two-game MLK tournament against Southeast.
The Stingrays honored both the girls and boys basketball seniors by inviting them onto the court with their families to be recognized by the fans and with remembrances of their time with Sumner HS basketball. The game itself started out with the ’Rays outscoring the Longhorns by four, 19-15, to end the first quarter. The Stingrays extended their lead out to 13 points to close the half. The Tank was filled with energy for the rivalry and its being the last home game of the regular season. Lennard staged a second-half comeback; the teams played an even third period, setting up a wild fourth quarter.
Longhorn senior Richard Sykes keyed a Lennard comeback that got the Longhorns to within a point at 70-66 with 47 seconds left on the clock for regulation.
Sumner senior Devin Baker brings the ball up court. Baker later left the game with an injury.
Francis Fedor Photos
Sumner senior CJ McCray and Lennard senior Richard Sykes jostle for the ball in the Stingray win on Jan. 14.
In the midst of the frenzied fourth-quarter Lennard run, Sumner senior Devin Baker was driving to the hoop for a contested layup and fell to the hardwood. The crowd was silent as Baker was attended to by the trainer, and he was able to get Baker up on crutches and off the court for further evaluation. It is an unfortunate injury for a player who has been the heart of the offense. Sumner closed out the game with a basket and free throw to seal the bittersweet victory. Stingray senior Karstan Walker had a big game himself with 19 points to lead all ’Rays, and fellow senior Amari Turner added 11 in the win. Devin Baker was averaging 11 points-per-game on the season, and Coach Gaddis will have to replace that offense down the stretch. The team also may be without Anthony Bailey who left Saturday’s game vs. Southeast with an apparent knee injury.
Sumner has played a tough District 7A schedule to start the tenure of Coach Gaddis. The team’s story has been a tale of two halves. Starting with the Nature Coast Christmas Tournament, the Stingrays have played 10 games, with seven opponents with 12 or more wins and four of those teams have 15 wins and fewer than two losses. In the first half of the season, the ’Rays played only one team with more than 12 wins (currently) and won that game vs. Plant City at home on Dec. 10. The South Shore competition has been lacking, with only East Bay having more than 10 wins, so Sumner had the benefit of those opponents. And the Longhorns came into the Tank on a mission, and that may have been a factor in the closeness of that game.
Stingray senior Jahmar Correa launches a jump shot over Longhorn senior Nate Montalvo.
Sumner will catch a bit of a schedule advantage as it closes out the season. After the MLK tourney, the team will finish against 3-11 Hillsborough, 3-14 Robinson and 1-15 Middleton before two TBDs on the calendar to complete the regular season. Those games should give staff members a chance to look at players to fill any void left by the Baker and Bailey injuries as they look to the playoffs.
For more South Shore action, look for Steve Jackson’s write-up covering the other South Shore HS games.
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