Vikings overpower Gators in 3A-12 semis
Things never went right for the Island Coast Gators. Not the transportation to the game, not the opening tip and especially not the final score.
The Gators did not arrive at Bishop Verot’s gym for the District 3A-12 Tournament semifinal Friday night until 15 minutes after the scheduled opening tip. When it was time to tipoff, Verot gained the first possession. It was downhill from there for the Gators, who were overpowered in a 68-41 defeat.
The win sends the host Vikings into the championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday against Dunbar, which defeated Gateway Charter 66-33 in the other semifinal game.
“We came out flat against them the last time, but we were ready to go and played a lot harder,” said Vikings coach Matt Herting.
Island Coast pulled off a surprising defeat of the Vikings just before they reeled off nine wins in 11 games before Friday’s victory.
“We are a lot different team now,” said Herting. “We are peaking at the right time.”
The Vikings (16-10) reeled off the game’s first 14 points before the Gators’ Terrel Griffin made their first basket with 3:20 to play in the first period. Less than a minute later, the Gators had made more turnovers (six) than they had points (four). However, they reeled off eight straight to pull within 14-8, but that was as close as they would come the rest of the night.
Verot responded to take a 25-11 lead at the first break. The Vikings outscored the Gators 26-8 in the second quarter to open a 51-19 cushion.
The Gators (9-17) were their own worst enemy, committing 16 turnovers in the first half and six more in the second half for a total of 22. The Vikings turned the ball over 10 times overall.
With 1:45 left in the period, Jacquard Hagan grabbed an offensive rebound and put it in the basket. It was the first of three successive rebound baskets for the senior in the span of 30 seconds. Hagan led the Vikings with 22 first-half points and topped all scorers with 27.
“Knock on wood, Jacquard has been tearing it up for about a month now,” said Herting. “He’s a very special player.”
The Vikings held the Gators at bay through the second half with a running clock, at one point stretching the lead to a game-high 36 points (60-24).
Freshman Quinten Payne finished with 11 points for the Vikings.
Kyle Harding and Jordan Hrkach topped the Gators with 11 points apiece with Isaac Aponte adding 10 points.
The Gators hit just 6-of-16 shots at the free throw line and the Vikings hit their first free throw of the night, but missed their next eight in a row.
Island Coast 11 8 10 12 – 41
Bishop Verot 25 26 9 8 – 68
Island Coast 41 – Aponte 10, Harding 11, Hrkach 11, Perez 4, Griffin 3, Morris 1. Totals: 17 6-16 41.
3PG – Harding 1.
Bishop Verot 68 – Reeves 2, Wagner 6, Payne 11, Hoop 2, Thomas 5, Hagan 27, Sandoval 6, Howard 7, Taylor 2. Totals: 31 1-9 68.
3PG – Payne 1, Thomas 1, Hagan 3.
Boys Soccer
Bishop Verot 2, Berkeley Prep 1: Juniors James Gibson and Andrew Palumbo scored goals in the second half to lift Bishop Verot over Berkeley Prep in the Region 3-3A Final Friday at Viking Stadium.
The win earns the Vikings (24-1-2) a berth in the Class 3A state semifinals Thursday at Pepin Stadium in Tampa.
“We hit the post three times in the second half and they (Berkeley) cleared the ball off the goal line several times,” said Vikings coach Tom McGlinn. “We took it to them in the second half.”
Goalkeeper Lucas Polk made seven saves, giving up just one goal late in the first half. The Vikings got off 18 shots overall to eight for Berkeley Prep.