High school basketball, soccer: Barron Collier, Gateway close Palmetto Ridge tourney with wins
FRIDAY
Palmetto Ridge Holiday Hoops Tournament
Day 3 of the Palmetto Ridge Holiday Shootout featured seven games with Gateway topping Gulf Coast in the nightcap. All but two of the games on Friday were decided by double digits.
Barron Collier 66, Lehigh 53: Nick Degnan scored the game's first points and then kept scoring. Lehigh (5-3) responded to his quick trey to open the game with a 12-0 run and the Lightning held an 18-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. Lehigh was led by seven points apiece by Kionus Walters and Justin Gollopp.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Max Etienne prompted Barron Collier coach David Watts to call a timeout with 5:42 remaining in the first half and his team down 26-17. The reset worked with the Cougars (9-3) making it a 29-25 game two minutes later.
The Cougars' defense stiffened and a putback by Gabe Markhart tied things at 33-33 with 2:20 remaining in the half. Barron Collier grabbed the lead 20 seconds later on a Degnan layup. A pair of treys by Spencer Clayton and Degnan before halftime gave the Cougars a 37-30 at the break. Degnan scored 20 of his game-high 27 points in the first half.
"I reminded them of who we are and what we do as an identity," Watts said of the timeout. "We're fighters and we execute and play hard defense.
"We played great team defense and went on a run."
The Cougars scored the first seven points of the second half before James Bryant finally ended the Lehigh scoring drought. Bryant led Lehigh with 15 points.
Gateway 72, Gulf Coast 62: Thanks to Christopher Jimenez's five points to begin the game, the Sharks (7-4) jumped out to a 16-4 early lead en route to a 22-13 lead after one quarter. Gateway (7-1) trimmed the lead to 31-28 by halftime. Tavian Cook led the Eagles with 10 points at the break, finishing with a game-high 21. Gulf Coast's Daniel Riverasoto scored 11 of his team-high 18 points in the first half.
The Eagles opened the second half with seven of the first nine points and grabbed their first lead on Cook's layup a minute in. The contest remained tight with Gateway clinging to a 47-45 lead at the end of the third quarter. Gateway's team speed and athleticism eventually wore down the Sharks, who had a hard time against the full-court pressure implemented by Gateway coach Gary Sheriff.
Emphatic dunks by Andrew Leopold and Cook in the fourth quarter helped put the game away.
"We played four nights in a row, so I knew we were going to be a little sluggish," Sheriff said of his team that went 3-0 during the Palmetto Ridge event. "We were a little slow getting our offense going. Our defense is good, but our offense is a little behind. We're coming along.
"It's a nice springboard to win. We don't have another game until January, so we'll get a couple of practices in and get some guys who are a little nicked up healthy and be ready for the second half of the season."
Earlier in the day, Oasis was a 56-45 winner over Immokalee; Aubrey Rogers beat Bonita Springs 81-62; North Tampa Christian routed Lely 98-45; Gateway Charter topped Cardinal Mooney 77-58; and Community School of Naples got by Cypress Lake 64-62.
THURSDAY
Palmetto Ridge Holiday Hoops Tournament
Gateway Charter 69, Palmetto Ridge 38: A big third-quarter propelled Gateway Charter over the Bears in a matchup of the two top-ranked area teams according to MaxPreps. The Griffins (7-4) handed Palmetto Ridge (9-1) its first loss of the season.
Patrick Johnson led Gateway Charter with 20 points. Trey Fogle scored 13 points, and Gabriel Timmons and Myles Jones each put up 11.
“We were really excited about playing this game, ‘cause these are two of the best teams in the area,” said Gateway Charter coach R.J. Jones. “There was a lot of hype for this game. It was a matter of us having enough legs, ‘cause we played a tough game last night as well.
“Pat Johnson is just amazing,” Jones said. “Even when he’s not scoring, he is amazing. He rebounds well and he alters shots a lot of the time. His presence is important to us. We call him ‘super Pat’, and he’s always a threat offensively for us.”
Calven Charles scored 11 for the Bears.
“Our defense was ready for what Palmetto Ridge does,” Jones said. “They got in foul trouble early, and we were able to take advantage of that with our press.”
Gateway 71, Cypress Lake 54: Gateway coach Gary Sheriff was looking for an offensive spark for his team Thursday, and he didn’t need to look any further than the Eagles playing defense.
Creating plenty of turnovers early in the game, the Eagles got off to a big lead on the way to a 71-54 win over Cypress Lake.
Throwing on a full-court press, the Eagles gave the Panthers fits in trying to even to get the ball past the midcourt line.
“We played really good defense. However, we are a little behind everyone else on offense right now, just because we haven’t played as many games,” Sheriff said. “But we are starting to knock the rust off on offense, and we are starting to get some momentum going. The defense created the offense for us tonight.”
Tavian Cook had 28 points for Gateway (7-1). Qur’an Pettyjohn had 12 points, and Jeffson Louis had 11.
“Everything starts with the defense for us,” Sheriff said. “If we play hard and play team defense, it will create offense. It gets our juices flowing and gives us energy.”
For the purples, Jacques Duversone had 21 and Giordan Easley had 19
It looked like it would be a blowout early, as the Eagles took command with a 14-point lead. But then the Panthers drew to within eight points midway through the third quarter at 40-32, because the Panthers pulled off several good cuts to the basket
Gateway spread out the floor in the fourth to hold on to the victory.
“We made some substitutions to just get some fresh legs in there in the third,” Sheriff said. “When the score got closer, we got some loose balls, because we were aggressive on our double-teams and scrambling. That is really our game.”
The Panthers kept it close early, but the Eagles broke it open later in the first quarter, relying mostly on the fastbreak and a full-court press. After a slam by Pettyjohn and two free throws Louis, Gateway led 19-5 after one quarter. Cypress Lake fared better in the second and it was a 30-17 Eagle lead at halftime.
Thursday's other results
Cape Coral 63, Lely 51: Head Coach Robert Ebbert picked up his 100th career win in the Seahawks win over the Trojans. Mac Rubicco led Cape Coral with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals. Austin Arringdale-Klein finished with 15 points and six rebounds, while Judah Daley added 11 points, five assists, and three steals. Joe Silva had 10 points and five steals, and Elijah Felix had 10 points and five rebounds.
Gulf Coast 87, Naples 51
Oasis Charter 68, Aubrey Rogers 64
Sarasota Cardinal Mooney 61, Community School of Naples 48
North Tampa Christian 80, Barron Collier 49
Estero 50, Immokalee 49
Friday's Games
9:45 a.m. Oasis vs. Immokalee
11:30 a.m. Aubrey Rogers vs. Bonita Springs
1:15 p.m. Lely vs. North Tampa Christian
3 p.m. Cardinal Mooney vs. Gateway Charter
4:45 p.m. Cypress Lake vs. Community School of Naples
6:30 p.m. Barron Collier vs. Lehigh
8:15 p.m. Gateway vs. Gulf Coast
Other area scores:
Evangelical Christian 60, Village School of Naples 48: Drew Irwin had 15 points and seven boards for the Sentinels, while TJ Ehindero added 15 points and seven rebounds of his own. Jahquez Outtenn added 14 points, six rebounds, and five assists.
Girls Basketball
St. John Neumann 68, Horizon 46: Sydney Martin took over in the fourth quarter, scoring 16 of her game-high 24 points in the Celtics' Gulf Coast Shootout win. Sophia McCartney had 14 points and 17 rebounds while Mylee Van de Wouw had 12 points.
Lehigh 42, Gateway Charter 33: Rianne Smith led Lehigh with 19 points, while Faith Plummer finished with 15 points.
Boys Soccer
Mariner 2, DeSoto 1: Lucas Tarra and Justin Medero scored as the Tritons improved to 11-3-1 on the year.
Girls Soccer
Fort Myers 4, Cape Coral 4: Kai Kassazza led the Green Wave with one goal and two assists. Cameron Fallacara had one goal and two assists for the Seahawks. Mikala Allen scored one goal and one assist, while Angelina Toro and Sophia Vianest added one goal each for Cape Coral. Payton Jones tallied eight saves in the net.
Cypress Lake 9, East Lee County 1: Meredith Moldawsky had three goals and two assists in the Panthers' win, and Kasey Morisset had a hat trick of her own. Kiera Desmond finished with two goals and two assists. Athena Yurjevich had one goal and one assist, and Rory Farrell added two assists.
North Fort Myers 3, Cardinal Gibbons 0: Kenlee Dominguez tallied two goals for the Red Knights, while Sophia Quartuccio added one goal. Sophia Kerns had two assists, and Lexi Nuemann had one assist. Brooke Hankinson registered the shutout as North Fort Myers improved to 10-2 on the year.
WEDNESDAY
Palmetto Ridge Holiday Hoops Tournament
Gateway 78, Cape Coral 61: Tavian Cook dropped 30 points for the Eagles. Andrew Leopoid finished with 11 points, and Tyler Diaz added seven points.
Immokalee 63, Aubrey Rogers 58
Oasis 75, Naples Classical 37
Barron Collier 69, CSN 50
Gulf Coast 76, Lely 60
North Tampa 56, Cardinal Mooney 49
Estero 75, Bonita Springs 50
Gateway Charter 81, Cypress Lake 63
Other area scores:
Moore Haven 55, Seacrest 53 (OT): Ben Cassano tallied a game-high 20 points with eight rebounds, three assists, and three blocks in the loss.
Girls Basketball
Lely 60, Lehigh 51: Rianne Smith dropped 35 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals in the loss.
TUESDAY
Boys Basketball
South Fort Myers 59, Seacrest 53: Ja'Mahdi Ward scored 17 points for the Wolfpack, while Avery Thomas added 13 points. Ben Cassano scored a game-high 26 points with four made triples for the Stingrays. Ethan Bates added 15 points in the loss.
Girls Basketball
First Baptist 46, Fort Myers 18: Ella Johnson led the Lions with 19 points.
MONDAY
Girls Soccer
Oasis 4, Bonita Springs 0: Deliliah Baas and Sydney Moreau scored their first varsity goals in the Sharks' win.
Cape Coral 7, Gateway 0: Cameron Fallacara had a hat trick in the Seahawks' win. Kaysie Taylot and Isabella Cruz both had one goal and one assist each, while Zoee Maurillo and Mikala Allen had one goal each. Sophia Vianest tacked on two assists, while Keepers Payton Jones and Peyton Gogo combined for the shutout.
North Fort Myers 9, Riverdale 1: Kenlee Dominguez led the Red Knights to their eighth win of the year with three goals and one assist. Sophia Kerns had two goals and two assists, and Skylar Murphy had one goal and three assists. Carolina Jenkins and Gigi Gerke had one goal and one assist each, and Bri Sullivan added one goal.
Boys Soccer
Bonita Springs 3, Oasis 2: Caden Bly had a goal and an assist for the Sharks, while Mario Acosta added one goal in the loss.
Palmetto Ridge 2, Lely 0: Felix Tamayo and Chris Ramirez-Mejia scored for the Bears in the win.
Boys Basketball
Oasis 81, Ida Baker 41: Ten different Sharks found the scoring column in the win, led by Brendan Overbaugh's 27 points. Javarius Jackson finished with 12 points, and Zach Louzao added 10 points.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: SWFL high school roundup for Dec. 18-23: Basketball and Soccer scores
