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BOYS BASKETBALL: Oldsmar Christian Outlasts Game Group of Gators

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EDDIE DANIELS

edaniels@tampatrib.com

Published: January 7, 2009

LAND O’ LAKES - Just in front of the Land O' Lakes locker room Tuesday night, Gators coach Dave Puhalski conveyed a sense of accomplishment.

Despite being on the wrong side of the night's 65-56 score against visiting Oldsmar Christian, Land O' Lakes gave the Eagles all they wanted.

"This was a good test for us," Puhalski said. "Unfortunately we lost, but it was close."

He put the thumb and forefinger on his left hand just inches apart to reiterate that fact.

"I told them we were this close. We were close," he said. "We just need to get over the top. This team [Oldsmar Christian] beat Ridgewood by double figures early in the season, so we're right there."

For Oldsmar Christian (15-3), the victory extends their streak of wins to 10. Eagles coach Ryan Pannone called Tuesday night's performance the worst of the season, but credited Land O' Lakes for forcing their hand in the matter.

"You have to attribute whenever you don't play well to the other team," Pannone said. "They came out well-prepared as a team. They're very well-coached and played extremely hard.

"We missed a few more free throws than normal, had a few more turnovers than normal. We just didn't value the possessions tonight. We had a big target on our back."

With a little more than three minutes remaining in the first period, Land O' Lakes guard Ryan Harris buried a 3-pointer, quickly followed by a Kevin Burnell's layup. That cut into Oldsmar Christian's advantage, 13-11, forcing the Eagles into a timeout. During the pause in play Bache made it clear he wasn't happy with his team's play.

Out of that break, the Eagles appeared to rouse from that lull, conducting a 9-2 run and taking a 22-13 lead into the second period.

Missed shots, fouls and turnovers by the Eagles in addition to timely buckets and 8-of-11 on free throws by the Gators aided Land O' Lakes (10-6) in going into the half down by one, 27-26.

Quentin Bastian's layup at the 7:35 mark of the third period gave the Gators their lone advantage of the evening, 28-27.

"I thought we came out strong in the first quarter," Pannone said. "We went up by nine and I think some of our guys started playing with the mentality of the game's kind of over. One thing about coach Puhalski's teams is they never quit. They play hard the whole game."

That level of relentless play was matched by several in the Eagles lineup, particularly Harold Doby and Chris Perez. Doby led all scorers with 32 points, while Perez collected 17. Quentin Bastian led Land O' Lakes with 17 points. Teammate Kevin Burnell added 12.

With 2:41 remaining in the contest, Land O' Lakes tied the game, 52-52, when Burnell was fouled. He hit both free throws, but Doby and Perez answered with back-to-back scores, pushing Oldsmar Christian ahead, 56-52.

The Eagles made good on 9-of-10 free throws down the stretch to keep Land O' Lakes at a distance and ensuring a victory.

"It was a game of runs and I think we had a couple times in there where we had some defensive letdowns and some offensive letdowns," Puhalski said. "In a close game like that, every possession adds up. … I'm proud of the way they played. We just have to get over that hump."

OLDSMAR CHRISTIAN 65, LAND O' LAKES 56

OLDSMAR CHRISTIAN (65) — Doby 10 11-14 32, Perez 5 7-10 17, Agholor 2 2-2 7, Bianchi 2 0-0 6, Williams 1 1-5 3. Totals — 20 21-31 65.
LAND O' LAKES (56) — Bastian 5 7-8 17, Burnell 4 4-5 12, Cardwell 3 2-4 8, Harris 3 0-0 8 Jack Cannon 0 3-5 3, Gordon 1 0-0 3, Bartels 1 0-0 2, Cooper 0 1-2 1.

Oldsmar Christian 22 5 19 19 — 65
Land O' Lakes 13 13 16 14 — 56

3-point goals —Oldsmar Christian 4 (Bianchi 2, Agholor, Doby); Land O' Lakes 3 (Harris 2, Gordon). Total fouls —O 21 L 17. Fouled out — Williams (O), Bastian (L). Records —O 16-3, L 10-6.

Reporter Eddie Daniels can be reached at (813) 948-4214.

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