Prep Report: Baker topples North 78-54
The Ida Baker Bulldogs suffered one of their worst losses of the season in their final regular-season game before the District 5A-15 Tournament.
Making matters worse was a layoff between last Thursday’s 28-point loss to Lehigh and Wednesday’s tournament opener against visiting North Fort Myers.
“When you lose like that it sits with you,” Baker coach Greg Coleman said.
The No. 2-seeded Bulldogs bounced back Wednesday night and advanced to the district semifinals with a 78-54 victory over North.
Seniors John Skinner and Gabe Rodriguez led a consistent offense with 18 points each. Seniors Xavier Battle and Zach Campbell chipped in with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
The Bulldogs (17-9) shot the ball well, including 11-for-14 in the second quarter, but Coleman said they need to be better defensively as they move forward in the tournament.
“We played sloppy,” he said. “We need to play a lot harder.”
The Bulldogs face No. 6-seeded Gulf Coast in one semifinal at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Gulf Coast pulled off a mild upset, 57-52, over No. 3-seeded Lehigh. Top seed and defending champion Fort Myers plays Barron Collier at 6 p.m. Friday in the other semifinal at Baker.
The Bulldogs took control early Wednesday en route to their third victory of the season over the seventh-seeded Red Knights (8-14).
Rodriguez sank two three-pointers and had 14 of his 18 points in the first, allowing the Bulldogs to open a 20-13 lead.
Coleman said Rodriguez tends to jumpstart their attack.
“When he plays well, we usually play well as a team,” he said.
Rodriguez’s teammates took over in the second quarter as the Bulldogs extended the lead to 46-30.
Senior Eric Ramos came off the bench and had five of his seven points in the second quarter, and Skinner scored nine. He capped the 26-point quarter with an alley-oop dunk off an assist from Campbell.
The Bulldogs continued to build the lead in the second half.
Battle finished with nine assists. Tre Boston scored 12 points to lead the Red Knights.
North Fort Myers 13 17 7 17 – 54
Ida Baker 20 26 15 17 – 78
North Fort Myers 54 – Boston 12, M.Malaise 5, Guerrero 10, Rosario 5, Wirka 6, Hrzenak 3, A.Malaise 4, G.Crowell 7, Zane Lapaugh 2. Totals: 21-44 8-13. Totals: G.Crowell 2, Rosario 1, M.Malaise 1.
Ida Baker 78 – Skinner 18, Rodriguez 18, Campbell 14, Ramos 7, Battle 12, R.Serrano 2, A.Serrano 4, Munson 2. Totals: 33-51 8-19 78. 3-point goals: Rodriguez 2, Ramos 1, Skinner 1.
Barron Collier 72, Cape Coral 55: No. 4-seeded Barron Collier built a 28-point cushion through three quarters and held on to defeat Cape Coral in District 5A-15 quarterfinals action.
The win sends the Cougars into the semifinals against No. 1-seeded Fort Myers at 6 p.m. Friday at Ida Baker.
The Seahawks (17-8), who were guilty of 32 turnovers, battled back within six points with three minutes to go, but could not convert on a couple of possessions to close the gap further.
Joel Hill pumped in a game-high 25 points for the Seahawks, backed by Cameron Hall with 13.
Brian Landers led the Cougars with 14 points. Dion Clark and Jason Humphries each added 13.
Cape Coral 15 10 11 19 – 55
Barron Collier 22 15 18 17 – 72
CAPE 55 – Mitchell 2, Hall 13, McIntyre 2, Hill 25, Monteagudo 9, Tavarez 4. Totals: 17 16-24 55. 3-point goals: Monteagudo 1, Hall 1, Hill 3.
COLLIER 72 – Clark 13, Gilbert 9, Phillips 7, Gonzalez 6, Bianchi 6, Landers 14, Humphries 13, Schmidt 4. Totals: 27 15-17 72. 3-point goals: Clark 1, Gilbert 1, Phillips 1.
Fort Myers 71, Mariner 56: Terran McClendon, Matt Yance and James Whitfield each scored 10 points to lead a balanced scoring attack and send Fort Myers to victory over Mariner in the District 5A-15 quarterfinals.
The No. 1-seeded Green Wave (18-8) faces Barron Collier in the first semifinal game at 6 p.m. Friday at Ida Baker. Collier ousted Cape Coral 72-55.
The Tritons, who started fast in beating East Lee County Tuesday night, had little to offer against the Wave as they fell behind 34-13 by halftime. A furious fourth-quarter rally came too late.
Ricardo Barsesa pitched in a game-high 22 points for the Tritons (13-14), who also got 11 points from Kameron Beach.
Mariner 5 8 17 26 – 56
Fort Myers 19 15 19 18 – 71
MARINER 56 – Beach 11, Barsesa 22, Kuchman 2, Marrero 1, Vandermark 3, Guerrier 2, Lagrace 2, Johnson 13. Totals: 17 16-23 56. 3-point goals: Barsesa 5, Beach 1.
FORT MYERS 71 – McClendon 10, Stokes 2, Graham 9, Yance 10, Joseph 4, Hodge 9, Manning 8, Whitfield 10, Henry 7, White 2. Totals: 25 17-27 71. 3-point goals: McClendon 1, Graham 1, Whitfield 1, Henry 1.
Softball
North Fort Myers 4, Bishop Verot 0: Mariah Fernandez belted a three-run home run in the fifth inning and Jackie Owen pitched a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts to carry North Fort Myers to a shutout victory over Bishop Verot.
The Red Knights (2-0) host Barron Collier and Verot (1-1) hosts LaBelle on Tuesday.
Bishop Verot 000 000 0 – 0 2 2
North Ft. Myers 001 030 x – 4 4 1
W – Owen (2-0). L – Barraco (1-1).
HR – Fernandez (NFM).
Ida Baker 24, Mariner 5: Freshman Sami Fisher belted a two-run home run in the first inning and the visiting Bulldogs piled up 24 runs in a season-opening win over Mariner.
The Bulldogs scored nine in the first inning and stretched the lead to 14-0 in the second. Sophomore Katie Rieser went 4-for-4 at the plate, contributing to the Bulldogs’ 16 hits.
Senior Kayla Vetter picked up her first win of the season on the mound.
The Bulldogs host Riverdale Friday. Mariner is back in action Thursday at Gulf Coast.
Sports editor Jim Linette contributed to this report.