A 'dangerous' team: Milton boys hoops keeps win streak alive, tops district rival Tate

Milton boys basketball head coach Joey Nieves shook hands with opposing players and coaches, congratulated his own players, spoke to a few fans and then hugged his parents.

Nieves went on to answer several questions about the Panthers’ game then made his way to Milton’s locker room – the away team’s room at Tate High School.

He opened the door, turned the corner and yelled, “How ‘bout them Panthers, boys?”

Indeed, how about those Panthers, who secured a crucial District 1-6A victory over Tate, 68-63, at Fryman Gym on Thursday? The win now puts Milton in favorable position to claim the top seed in the district, meaning the Panthers would host tournament games as long as they win.

It was a win where both Milton and Tate came in on hefty win streaks – Tate had just beaten Navarre to end the Raiders’ win streak on Jan. 12 and had won its last five contests. Milton extended its win streak to five consecutive after Thursday’s game.

“We got to get it on the road, and we did that, man. It’s a sign of a good team. It’s a sign that my guys are really hungry to be one of the best in the area,” Nieves said. “To come over here at their place and to win a close one like that, it looks like we’re getting fairly ready for the playoffs.”

The game was never truly out of reach for Tate. While Milton had a stronghold in the early stages of the first quarter, a six-point run from the Aggies made it a 14-12 game, in favor of the Panthers.

And Tate kept it within striking distance, but couldn’t find “that extra gear” to at least match the Panthers, who consistently led by six or seven points – until the very end, getting it to within four points before free throws from Milton’s C.J. McKinley and Treymar Jones.

“I just had to step out of the arc, take a breath and secure the lead,” Jones said. “I secured the dub, and got out of here.”

“We got a little winded at times. Late in the game, we found that extra gear – but it wasn’t enough to get over the hurdle,” Tate head coach Clyde Abney said. “We ran out of time.”

Tate (12-6) will look to rebound with a game Saturday against Pace at 12:30 p.m., while Milton (16-2) will try to make it six wins in a row, also on Saturday, when the Panthers travel to Rickards in Tallahassee for a 6 p.m. tip-off.

Rickards (12-5) comes in winners of its last two games, including Thursday against Gadsden County.

“We don’t want to look too far ahead,” Nieves said. “We have Rickards on Saturday, so we’ll prepare for them then worry about next week, next week.”

“Rickards is looking like it’s going to be a tough team,” Jones said. “We’re moving to Rickards with confidence, and will try to knock them off, too.”

Here are three takeaway’s from Thursday’s district game.

‘We’re just having fun’

If there was one defining moment in the second quarter that displayed Milton’s depth, it came when David Aboya entered the game off the bench. As McKinley drove down the court looking for a layup, it went off the rim.

No worries, though. Aboya – a sophomore standing at 6-foot-3 – jumped up, and grabbed the rebounding while slamming down a dunk.

“I knew they were pressuring C.J., so I was just following behind them. They were following him all game,” Aboya said. “I was just trying to get as high as I could – and you saw how it happened.”

Seconds later, while Tate answered with a jump shot, Mateo Robinson hit a 3-pointer from the corner, then Aboya made a huge block on a Lucas Williams layup on the ensuing possession. He found McKinley far down the court, who drove in for the easy layup with 2 minutes, 31 seconds left in the half.

Tate called timeout to reset.

“We just showed what we could do,” Aboya said.

“Oh man, we’re just having fun. We’re competing. We talked about playing hard and having fun at the beginning of the year. We’ve been doing that,” Nieves said. “Today was one of those days where it was a tough game between two good teams, but these guys have a lot of fun.”

That one blocked layup was just one of many down low for the Panthers in the game. Behind Aboya, Dylan Porter and Robinson, the fun extends to defense as well. They prevented a lot of easy layups for the Aggies to keep Milton on top.

While Nieves wasn’t too happy with being out-rebounded by Tate, it’s just “one negative” that the Panthers will work on throughout the week. But overall, Nieves said he was happy with how Milton performed.

“Really, we like to play hard and not foul. … In practice, we’re always a four-man shell,” Jones said. “So we just came out and did what we do in practice – and shut it down.”

Three’s company

It’s not the Panthers’ main identity, Jones mentioned, but it’s definitely an added bonus. When those close-in shots just didn’t drop at the beginning of the game, there was one aspect to the Milton offense that helped expand the lead.

Every other shot seemed to be a 3-pointer, and several players – including Jones – were hitting shots from deep. Milton hit 11-pointers throughout the contest.

“I mean hey, three is more than two – so it helps build that lead a lot,” Jones said.

“We take time in practice to shoot. We’re hoping that we’re consistent with that. When we don’t (hit the 3-pointer), we struggle a little bit,” Nieves said. “When we do, it helps us win these types of ball games.”

With the plethora of scorers on the Milton bench, it provides ample depth for the Panthers. Nieves simply called his team a “dangerous” one.

“If one guy isn’t playing well, we have three, four or five others that can really get it going,” Nieves said. “We’ve got a couple guys that can put it in the bucket, and it really helps us out.”

‘We’ve just got to get over that hump’

Those 3-pointers and small runs from Milton proved to be the dagger in Tate’s fate. Every time the Aggies got close, Milton would quickly answer to put a bigger gap on the scoreboard. And when the Panthers have several shooters – especially wide open behind the arc – that’s going to cause some problems, Abney noted.

“You let a team hit 11 3-pointers, it’s hard to beat,” Abney quipped.

Between that, missed assignments on defense plus missing those easy layups, that’s where the five-point differential really comes from. Just a couple more shots – including late free throws – “really change the game,” Abney said, and potentially allow for more options when it comes down to the last couple possessions.

“I told the guys we’ve got to stay encouraged. We lost by five to a really good team,” Abney said. “We’ve just got to get over that hump.”

With where the district stands now, it’s possible that Milton and Tate could meet again in the district tournament in a few weeks. Abney told his team after the game they’ve “just got to be ready for the” Panthers next time around.

“The message is we’ve got to step it up. … Milton played a great game. We’ve got to be ready to play that type of game against them,” Abney said. “If we play that type of game against anybody, we’ve got a great shot.”

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Milton boys basketball beats Tate in big District 1-6A matchup