By STEVE JACKSON
The 2024-25 boys basketball season ended in disappointing fashion for all five high schools in the South Shore five last week.
Sumner High, under first-year Head Coach Augustine Gaddis, lasted the longest of the five South Shore teams. The Stingrays made it to the championship finals of the district playoff. Plant High of Tampa hosted Sumner on Feb. 7 and dominated the ’Rays 60-49 to move on to the regionals in the FHSAA (Florida High School Athletic Association). The Panthers, moving their record to 21-7, are set to face Newsome in the opening round of the 7A Regional playoffs, Wednesday, Feb. 12. The winner advances; loser goes home. Sumner had squeezed by Alonso High 53-47 in overtime last week, prior to its elimination to complete a 15-12 record. The ’Rays won 1 and lost 1 in the District 11 playoff.
En route to the District 11 Championship, Plant also terminated the 12-13 season of Lennard High of Ruskin. The Longhorns, of Coach Christopher Putnam, were sent home in a crushing 72-38 victory at Plant, Feb. 5. Lennard had won its opening round in the district playoff by pounding Palm Harbor University High two days earlier, 74-54. The Horns’ top scorer in that win was senior Richard Sykes with 21 points; he also added seven rebounds. Sykes was the Horns’ leading season scorer and rebounder with 13.3 points per game and 6.3 rebounds a game. Lennard senior Nate Montalvo chipped in with 18 points on a 4 for 8 job from beyond the 3-point line. Junior Nathan Jorden scored 11 points, junior Edgar Devalle pumped in 9 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and 5 points were contributed by senior Makai Hills, junior Devin Freeman and Noah Jorden. Sophomore Moise Abreu and senior Eric West played but registered no stats.
The Riverview Sharks, of Coach Anthoine Corpening, made it to the first round of the 7A-D11 playoff but were sent packing immediately by Alonso High 54-38. Riverview struggled all season, compiling a 6-14 final mark, scoring 919 points or 46 points a game. The Sharks allowed 1088 points total, a 54 points per game yield.
East Bay High and Spoto High both played in 5A-District 9, and both had decent seasons. The Indians, of Head Coach Yusef Hemmings, had a 16-12 ledger. EB scored 1582 points, a 56.5 per game average on offense. Defensively, the Indians gave up a total of 1433 points, a 51.2 points per game average. The Indians used a well-balanced attack to knock out Southeast High 62-57 in its District 9 opening playoff contest. Junior Curry Staples led all EB scores with 15 points and snared eight rebounds. Senior Lamardea Anderson registered a double-double, scoring 12 points and claiming 15 rebounds. Junior Armani Smith put in 14 points and had five rebounds, sophomore Moshin Hemmings scored 9 points, junior Lennox Duggan scored 4 points and senior Nicholas Ghent scored 4 and corralled seven rebounds to pace the win. In its disrict championship last Friday, Jesuit of Tampa was too much for the Indians, whose season ended with the 78-51 defeat. Anderson and Duggan both had 10 points, but it was not nearly enough against the Jesuit powerhouse. Season leading scorer for East Bay, Kyree Williams, did not play in either game.
The Spoto Spartans of Coach Waymon Reed quickly saw their season end with a District 9 opening round loss to Braden River High 64-49. The Spartans went 4-2 over their last six games and look forward to next season with the anticipated return of its two leading scorers, Jesse Harden and Jerren Rodriquez.
The South Shore five will become the South Shore six next fall with the addition of new school Morgan High in Wimauma, although no seniors will attend the first academic year. For the 2024-25 boys basketball season, the South Shore five won 62 and lost 60: East Bay at 16-12, Sumner at 15-12, Spoto at 13-9, Lennard at 12-13 and Riverview at 6-14. In district playoff action, the SS5 were 3-5.
For more coverage of Sumner sports see articles and photos by Francis Fedor in The Observer News and ObserverNews.net.