Start of Varsity Boys Basketball Season

The Chargers came out pressing and running, but the shots were not falling and Sarasota Christian was on fire from the outside making 11-3’s on the night giving Shorecrest a little bit of their own game. Slowly the Chargers gained control leading 65-54 at the end of 3 quarters, but let them hang around actually taking a lead late on 2 costly Shorecrest turnovers in the last 20 seconds.  Fortunately Marcus B. went coast to coast to seal the win and the Chargers prevailed in their first game of the season!

 

A balanced scoring attack was led by Marcus B. with 23, Kent K. with 16, Tyee J. with 12, Colin H. with 11 and Devin F. with 10 as all 9 players on the roster scored.

We may have played our best quarter of the early season and had an 18-10 lead. Taking good shots we got 3-3’s from Tyee, Colin and Aundre and our defensive intensity was strong. The 2^nd quarter, we cooled off and the game was turning into a defensive struggle as we clung to a 23-20 halftime lead. Not our typical run & fun type game, but we were taking what they gave us. Still leading 36-35 after 3 periods it looked like the game would go down to the wire. Unfortunately 3 turnovers and a forced shot on our first 4 possessions in the 4^th and they hit 3-3’s and just like that we were down 9 and had to fight back the rest of the way. We had it down to 4 with just under a minute and the ball possession, but a costly turnover proved too much to overcome and we finished the game with a hard fought 56-48 loss. Tyee J. led all scorers with 18 points in the hard fought loss against one of the top programs in Tampa Bay.

 

On Friday after Thanksgiving, we traveled to Naples to play the top public school down there, 6A- Golden Gate and they were as good as predicted. Playing shorthanded - Marcus with an eye contusion and Devin G with back strain - we knew others would have to step up to the challenge. Other than getting down by 15 early, the kids fought the whole way, and even had Golden Gate under some duress early in the fourth as we closed the lead to 12 on a flurry by Kent K. We bowed on the night 66-47. On the night Kent K had 15 and Devin F added 12 on 4- 3 pointers

On Saturday afternoon we had St. John’s Neumann, who we thought was re-building, but a new 7 footer and point guard definitely changed their team’s complexion over last year.  This game we led most of the first half and ran and pressed, but went cold in the 2^nd half and let them get the upper hand. Down by 8 late in the game, our furious rally allowed us to tie the game late. We fouled their big man with 10 seconds left and he made only 1 of 2, thus we had the last possession down 1, but missed a shot at the buzzer in a tough loss 70-69.

 

With 3 key players out (Aundre dislocated his shoulder) we were able to give the young guys great opportunities to get early season minutes. A lot of scoring fell on Kent K who had 15 and 21 over the weekend and Devin F who had 12 and 21 in gallant efforts for the Chargers. We had major efforts from Jack L, Colin H, Kyle H  and Mitch S to keep us competitive in both games.

Our first district game was at St. Pete Catholic, and they were out to revenge our recent domination. The game was tight the whole first half as Shorecrest was clinging to a 39-33 halftime lead, but St. Pete had the lead down to 2, until Colin H. got hot from outside and dropped in 4-3’s in the 3^rd quarter. Early in the 4^th with the Chargers up 10, it was then time for Marcus B. to make a couple.

 

Upcoming Home Games:
District action is in full force next week, with all 3 games at home. Come see your new look Chargers in action!