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Tough Test? Gators Roll

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By CRISTINA LEDRA, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 7, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - Going into Tuesday's game against Wesley Chapel at 4-1, Land O' Lakes expected one of its toughest tests of the season.

The Gators responded with a dominating 74-53 win in which Jerome Harrison came off the bench to lead the team with 27 points.

"It's been hit and miss," Land O' Lakes coach Dave Puhalski said. "This was probably, outside maybe Middleton that we lost to the first game of the season, this was one of the better teams we've played. We haven't really played a quality team, gotten a quality win. Sickles was all right, but this was one of the better ones."

After the 65-63 loss to Middleton, four of the Gators' five wins have been by 21 points or more. The River Ridge win on Nov. 27 was close, but only because the Royal Knights outscored the Gators 23-10 in the fourth quarter.

Land O' Lakes doesn't believe any lead is safe, especially against Wesley Chapel.

"Last year in the district semis we were up 15 on them and they beat us," Puhalski said. "I thought for sure they were going to come back, but it's early in the season."

The Gators have had good production from several players, including Mike Espinosa on the inside and Kevin Burnell, P.J. Potts and Ely Payne.

Harrison came off the bench against Wesley Chapel because a wrist injury from football season was still bothering him, and he missed the Hudson game because of disciplinary reasons, but he had 12 points against Central and exploded for 27 vs. the Wildcats on Tuesday.

At the end of the third quarter he collided with Wesley Chapel's Ladarius Manora in front of the Land O' Lakes bench and twisted his ankle, but he was able to walk it off and return to make his last basket of the game about halfway through the fourth quarter.

DEPTH LEADING BULLDOGS: Zephyrhills is off to a strong start at 3-1 and Bulldogs coach Alan Reed said it is because of the team's depth.

The Bulldogs have had about three players each night scoring in double figures, and those three players change each game, which gives opposing defenses a tough time trying to slow them down.

Zephyrhills has beaten Gulf by 12, Nature Coast by one, Wiregrass Ranch by 18 and its loss came to Pasco by 14 on Nov. 30. All three wins have been in the district.

GAMES TO WATCH: Land O' Lakes hopes the couple of good quality opponents it has faced have been enough of a warm-up for one of its biggest games of the season - at Ridgewood on Tuesday night.

The Rams haven't lost a game, and their smallest margin of victory has been 21 points.

But Land O' Lakes seems to be establishing itself as the clear No. 2 team in Pasco County. How close the Gators are to the Rams should be determined Tuesday.

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