Bulldogs bounce Panthers in hoops opener
In the first two minutes of Tuesday night’s high school basketball game, the Ida Baker Bulldogs rattled the visiting Cypress Lake Panthers into five turnovers in their first five possessions. The Bulldogs converted at the other end, including an alley-oop slam by senior John Skinner, off an assist from senior Zach Campbell.
The early onslaught resulted in a 10-0 lead for the Bulldogs, who didn’t let up. They built leads of 36-14 after one quarter and 64-21 at the half. Only a continuous running clock in the second half slowed down the Bulldogs, who cruised to a 76-38 season-opening win.
“As long as we’re creating turnovers and being where we’re supposed to be, that’s how games can be sometimes,” Bulldogs coach Greg Coleman said.
The Bulldogs, who (1-0) are coming off a program-best 15-12 record last season, spent a large portion of the offseason working on playing more of a transition game.
Against the Panthers, it started with relentless defense. They forced 20 turnovers in the first half and sharp passing in transition led to easy baskets.
Even in the half-court game, the Bulldogs moved the ball around efficiently and knocked down their open shots. They made 26 of 38 field goals (68 percent) in the first half.
Senior Gabe Rodriguez buried three three-pointers, notching a game-high 25 points. Skinner chipped in with 20 points, while senior point guard Xavier Battle dished out a school single-game record 12 assists.
Cypress (0-2) called several timeouts in the first half, but the Bulldogs continued to swarm defensively.
Campbell, who scored 10 points, got the Bulldogs going with a lob to Skinner for a layup and scored off a steal to make it 4-0. He added another alley-oop to Skinner, which resulted in a two-handed slam.
Campbell, Skinner and Rodriguez did most of the offensive damage in the first quarter, combining for 31 of the 36 points.
In the second quarter, the Bulldogs made eight of their first 10 shots. A three-pointer by Al Serrano stretched it to 53-20. Rodriguez made a reverse layup and three, pushing it to 59-20.
The 5-foot-11 Rodriguez played a pivotal role for the Bulldogs last season as their sixth man. He made a strong impression as a starter Tuesday night, scoring all 25 of his points before halftime.
Cypress Lake 14 7 12 5 — 38
Ida Baker 36 28 9 3 — 76
Cypress (38) — Clayton Edwards 18, Coulanges 5, Charland 2, Jonas Petitdo 4, Badeau 5, Smith 2, Foster 2. Totals: 13-37 8-14 38. 3-point goals: Edwards 4.
Baker (76) — Gabe Rodriguez 25, John Skinner 20, Justin Pascale 3, Zach Campbell 10, Eric Ramos 2, Xavier Battle 5, Al Serrano 5, Ron Ward 2, Rob Serrano 4. Totals: 29-45 11-13 76. 3-point goals: Rodriguez 3, Campbell 1, Skinner 1, A.Serrano 1, Pascale 1.
Fort Myers 65, North Fort Myers 32: Defending District 5A-15 champion Fort Myers (1-0) built a 53-17 halftime lead and defeated visiting North Fort Myers (0-2). After building a 35-point lead, a running clock took effect in the second half.
Colin Henry led the Green Wave with 17 points. Josh Nicholas tallied 14 points and four blocked shots.
The Green Wave hosts Mariner Tuesday and North plays at Lehigh.
North 6 11 9 6 — 32
Fort Myers 21 32 9 4 — 65
North (32) — A. Malaise 3, M.Malaise 7, Laniga 2, Wirka 4, Benjamin 1, Boston 2, Guerrero 8, Schuman 2, Degros 2, Joseph 1. Totals: 11 9-19 32.
3-point goals: M.Malaise 1.
Fort Myers (65) — McClendon 2, Nicholas 14, Graham 8, Yance 8, Michael-Hodge 8, Manning 4, Ridley 2, Henry 17, Desire 2. Totals: 26 12-17 65.
3-point goals: Henry 1.
Boys Soccer
North Port 2, Cape Coral 0: Santi Villamil made his first start at goalkeeper, coming off an injury, and made 11 saves, but it it was not enough as Cape was shut out by host North Port in the Thanksgiving Tournament.
The Seahawks (3-2-2) face Port Charlotte at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the final round of the tournament.
Mariner 2, Manatee 0: Julio Perez and Kyle Turner scored for Mariner in a victory over Bradenton Manatee in the semifinals of the Sarasota Thanksgiving Tournament.
The Tritons (3-2-1) advance to the championship match Wednesday against Tampa Jesuit.
Senior goalkeeper Renato Proia had seven saves, recording his third shutout of the season. Travis Edward, Matt Isherwood, John Teeter and Matt Lott continued their strong play up the middle. Tyler Korytkowski and Turner each had assists.
Girls Soccer
Bishop Verot 1, Cardinal Mooney 1: Mooney scored the tying goal with less than two minutes remaining to tie with Bishop Verot.
Melissa Peterson scored for Verot (2-2-1) on an assist from goalkeeper Staci Lehnert, who delivered a punt into the scoring area. Lehnert also made seven saves.
Ida Baker 8, Port Charlotte 0: Ida Baker is proving to be a team that travels well despite its youth after shutting out Port Charlotte for the Bulldogs’ third straight victory away from home.
Freshman Payton Van Horn led the Bulldogs with four goals while freshman Renee Pratt added two goals and junior Christine Giles chipped in with two goals to go with three assists.
Freshmen Brittney Herrera and Brenna Hambsch each contributed one assist, and goalkeeper Libby Schuls made three saves to preserve the shutout.
The Bulldogs (6-2-1) continue their road work Tuesday at Gulf Coast. Their next home game is Dec. 4 against Cypress Lake.
Fort Myers 2, North Fort Myers 0: Haley Emerson scored in the 27th minute of the first half and Fort Myers added another goal late to defeat North Fort Myers.
North’s Brianna Abatisti registered five saves in goal.
North (4-5) hosts Lehigh Tuesday.
Sports editor Jim Linette contributed to this report.