Finally, Gators conquer Vikings 69-45
Coach Greg Coleman’s Island Coast Gators aren’t 0-for-Verot any more.
The Gators rolled to a 69-45 victory at Bishop Verot Friday night.
For Vikings graduate Coleman, it is the first victory against his alma mater and the school where he got his coaching start as an assistant to longtime Verot coach Matt Herting.
Coleman had been 0-8 against the Vikings as a coach at Ida Baker and Island Coast.
“Finally,” Coleman said. “It only took about 10 years.”
The Gators (5-3) used their depth to good advantage Friday night. Sam Merchant came off the bench to hit five three-pointers and finished with a team-high 19 points. Another sub, Zack McAloon, had 11 points and nine rebounds.
“We played a really good game defensively,” Coleman said. “They made a couple of easy shots here and there, but when we can rotate – how many guys did we play? We played probably 12 guys in the first half.
“When we pick teams up full-court man (man-to-man defense) we’re a lot deeper than a lot of other teams. If we can play like that and get a lot of guys in, that puts a lot of pressure on a team that’s not as deep.
“I’m proud of our effort on defense. We’re finally starting to get some continuity, finally getting our whole team together. And it started to show tonight.”
Matt Jeannelas had 12 points and Craig Sirmons posted a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds for Island Coast.
“They have a really good team,” Herting said. “A lot of talent. They play hard. He’s done a really good job coaching them. So they looked really good.”
Thaddeus “T-Boy” Ward scored a game-high 25 points for Bishop Verot Friday. Stephen Wagner added 12 points.
Their first five guys are good, solid players,” Coleman said of the Vikings. “They have five guys who average double figures. That’s a high-scoring offense. They scored 97 points the other day.”
The Vikings (5-4) played their second game in as many nights, coming off a 71-45 district win over Oasis.
Herting discounted fatigue as a reason for his team’s loss.
“I don’t think that was it at all,” Herting said. “I think we just don’t have any leadership right now. Until some guys step up and start leading, it’s going to be a long year.”
Bishop Verot has two weeks off before playing Naples on Dec. 27 in the Gulfshore Holiday Hoopfest.
Island Coast, on the other hand, has a busy week coming up.
The Gators travel to Riverdale on Monday, followed the next night with a home game against Fort Myers – another team Island Coast has never beaten. Another home game next Friday against East Lee County takes the Gators into their holiday break.