Tritons’ 20-9 mark eases blow
Considering five of the last six years the Mariner Tritons did not have a winning record in boys’ basketball, Thursday night’s 51-44 loss to Naples in the Region 3-4A quarterfinals – and final 20-9 record – tempers the disappointment a bit.
“We had a great year regardless,” said Tritons coach James Harris. “We have six of 14 guys coming back next year that will have another year of experience, and we had a decent JV season. I’m happy with the development of our young players’ skills and I’m happy with the effort this team gave all season.”
The Tritons still had a shot at winning the game in the fourth quarter at Naples Thursday night. They trailed by three points with 40 seconds left, but a turnover proved costly.
“We had a lead in the fourth quarter, but I guess it just wasn’t our night,” said Harris. “All we needed was a couple more shots to fall and we could have won the game.”
The Tritons hit just 17-of-55 (31 percent) from the floor, but even worse from three-point distance at 5-of-21 (24 percent). That is crippling for a team that depended on three-pointers all season.
“We hit nearly 200 three-pointers this season,” said Harris. “We had one guy hit almost 70 and two others at 40. Sometimes you have to let them do what they do best. Sometimes you live and die with that shot.”
The Tritons hit 4-of-10 from long range in the second half, but it was too little, too late, Harris said.
Another factor in the loss may have come at the free throw line, where the Tritons hit just 5-of-10 compared to 15-of-23 for the Eagles.
“We averaged 18 free throws a game this season, so we are a team that had to shoot 20 free throws a game,” said Harris. “That’s also an indication that we were not aggressive enough. At the half I thought we needed to penetrate the lane more, but at some point in time when you have four or five defenders waiting for you in the lane you almost have to take the outside shot. We got some good looks, but couldn’t knock them down. It’s a catch-22 situation.”
Senior Kameron Beach led the Tritons with 14 points while junior Sam Guerrier, who knocked down three threes, finished with 10.
Naples (17-11), which has not appeared in a regional playoff game in eight years, visits Fort Myers Tuesday in the regional semifinal round. The Green Wave, ranked No. 1 in the state Class 4A poll, beat Golden Gate 63-59 in Thursday’s other regional quarterfinal.
Seniors Felipe Vasquez had a game-high 21 points for the Eagles and Jordan Leach added 14. Leach scored six straight points in the fourth quarter to turn a three-point deficit into a 42-39 lead. It sparked an 11-2 run that doomed the Tritons.
“We forced some things that we don’t normally do because we were not hitting shots,” said Harris. “We would score in bunches, but getting six points in the first quarter is not a recipe for winning. We never got into a good flow (Thursday) night).”
The victory is Naples’ first regional win in 15 years. The Eagles hadn’t won in the state playoffs since their last district championship in 1995.
The Eagles haven’t won two playoff games in one year since they went to the state championship game in 1991. It is just the fourth regional appearance for the Eagles since then.
Mariner 6 9 17 12 – 44
Naples 7 9 17 18 – 51
Mariner 44 – Beach 14, Barsesa 4, Kuchman 5, Marrero 2, Guerrier 10, Emmons 4, Johnson 5. Totals: 17 5-10 44.
3PG – Guerrier 3, Barsesa 1, Kuchman 1.
Naples 51 – Alderuccio 2, Vasquez 21, Hernandez 4, Jones 1, Thomas 9, Leach 14. Totals: 17 15-23 51.
3PG – Thomas 2.
Adam Fisher of the Naples Daily News contributed to this report.