Defense, pace keys for Knights

It didn't take River Ridge coach John Sedlack long to realize this year's Royal Knights were going to win games with defense and free throws.

Against Class 4A-District 8 teams like Lecanto, Nature Coast and Wiregrass Ranch, they weren't going to be able to run up and down the floor with those faster and taller teams.

After wins against Citrus (45-37) and Pasco (46-37), the Royal Knights faced Lecanto and Wiregrass in a four-day period with a 5-1 record.

"We came into (the Lecanto) game 5-1 and we beat a good Pasco team and we beat Citrus on the road, but prior to that we know our schedule was kind of weak," Sedlack said. "What people don't realize is we've got a lot of JV kids in there and they need to feel some success. We didn't try to rub anybody's nose in it. We took off pressure, but we got the victories we needed. We were ready to go on the road and win a big district game at Citrus. We hadn't won a district game since the quarterfinals last season, and that was the first district game we had won in two years."

River Ridge's other wins were against Clearwater Central Catholic, Bishop McLaughlin and Academy at the Lakes - all much smaller schools.

But against Lecanto and Wiregrass Ranch, the goal was still the same - slow the pace and play tough defense.

"I scouted Lecanto and I knew they wanted to play at a frantic pace," Sedlack said. "They want to play 13 guys and substitute five guys at a time. We had a walk-through and worked on the big-man delay we wanted to run and handling the pressure. Our guards are all JV guards. Austyn (Sconiers) was a JV guard. Chad (Childs) is a sophomore and was a JV guard. Jack (Chen) was a JV guard. We had a lot of guys in there playing a lot of minutes that are not highly experience high school basketball players."

Although the Royal Knights came up short against Lecanto (35-33) and were forced to play inside against Wiregrass Ranch and lost 50-26, Sedlack has his players believing they can win some games playing this style.

"The one thing these kids are starting to believe in is we can play defense," he said. "Going into Pasco, I told them we are a team that scores between 45 and 48 points. We've got to hold teams under 40. They laughed. I told them before the Pasco game we were going to score somewhere between 45 and 48 - we won 46-37. I've coached a long time and I know the personality of these kids. I know we can't put 90 points on the board. We have to control it with defense."

Tourney time

Area teams will participate in eight area holiday tournaments, beginning today when Bishop McLaughlin travels to the Seven Rivers Christian tournament in Lecanto.

Saturday, Mitchell and Wiregrass Ranch will take part in the Bright House Shootout at Clearwater High. The final Tuesday will air on Bright House Sports Network, Channel 47.

Two tournaments will be held in Pasco County. The William G. Hulton Ram Classic is Dec. 28-30 at Ridgewood with an eight-team field that includes Land O' Lakes, Ridgewood and Zephyrhills. Sunlake will host its New Year's Invitational on Jan. 6-8 with Gulf, Mitchell, Ridgewood, Sunlake, Wesley Chapel and Zephyrhills among the eight teams entered.

Milestones

Academy at the Lakes coach Tom Haslam enjoyed a victory for the first time as a high school coach when the Wildcats defeated Lakeside Christian 58-41 on Dec. 10. ... Land O' Lakes coach David Puhalski will attempt to earn career win No. 300 tonight when the Gators host Citrus in a 4A-8 game. Puhalski, in his 21st year, is 299-254.