Hunter denied milestone, but Tritons prevail
It was all about numbers at Thursday night at Cape Coral High, but the ones that were the most talked about were the ones that never arrived.
Mariner senior guard Rodney Hunter went into Thursday’s game with the host Seahawks just 22 points from a career milestone of 2,000, but managed only 15 amid an uneven, and occasionally painful, shooting night as the Tritons ground their way to a 61-36 win over their city rivals in a District 5A-12 game.
Hunter made just 6-of-15 attempts from the field and took a knee to the groin in a mid-game collision, but if you think the Columbia-bound standout emerged from the locker room lamenting a missed opportunity to join Mariner alumnus Teddy Dupay in the exclusive scoring club, think again.
“I just couldn’t buy a bucket, honestly, but we got the win and there are many more games in the season, so there’s no pressing about 2,000 points,” he said. “I’m playing basketball. I’m still going to play ball regardless of when I get it, where I get it. It’s something for everyone else to talk about.”
Dupay finished his high school career with 3,774 points before attending the University of Florida. Hunter announced his commitment to the Ivy League Lions in late December and will head to the upper Manhattan campus later this year with both a 3.87 grade-point average and, he hopes, more.
“Once it happens, it’s over,” he said, “and then I’m looking forward to a state championship.”
Hunter scored 27 points Friday night in a 68-58 victory over St. Pete Gibbs to surpass the 2,000-point mark. He entered the game needing seven points. He added to the mark Saturday morning with six points in a 48-41 loss to Tallahassee Godby in the Wally Keller Classic at Charlotte and now has 2,026 with about 10 days left in the regular season.
Hunter made two of three shots in the first quarter as the Tritons raced to a 20-8 lead, but his lone second-quarter points came on an interior spin midway through and were followed by a pair of missed free throws when he was fouled grabbing the rebound of a teammate’s shot about two minutes later.
He took the unfortunately placed blow from Lawrence Perez as the Seahawks senior drove the lane in the final seconds before halftime, leaving Hunter initially splayed on the floor and then hunched over for several moments by the scorer’s table as he struggled to regain his breath and composure.
Hunter was 0-for-3 from the field in the third quarter as Mariner managed just six points. He capped off the evening with three field goals and three more free throws in the final eight minutes.
“If roles were reversed, there’s no way I would let their best player score 2,000 points on my home floor,” Tritons coach James Harris said. “We knew that and we talked about it and we said, ‘Hey this needs to be a team win,’ and I felt like this was a team win.”
Indeed, Hunter was joined in double-digits by Jahmel Myers’ 14 points, and eight other teammates also made the scorebook as the team boosted its record to 13-3 overall and 5-0 in district games.
The win is the Tritons’ sixth straight in the series with the Seahawks, who are 4-12 overall, 1-4 in the district, and haven’t beaten Mariner since a six-point victory on Dec. 4, 2012. Mariner avenged that win a month later and has beaten Cape in its last two district title meetings.
“I certainly think it was on (Hunter’s) mind, but I think for all of us we just want to get it over with and not focus on it,” Harris said. “I felt like tonight he pressed a little bit because of it. But it wasn’t like he was forcing it, I just felt like maybe the shots were a little short for whatever reason. The beauty of basketball is you get to lace them up tomorrow and play, and go after it.”
Mariner 20 11 6 24 – 61
Cape Coral 8 7 6 15 – 36
MARINER (61) – Schell 5, Hunter 15, Darrett 8, Tracey 1, Deems 2, Shields 4, Smith 4, Kostyk 6, Ferrera 2, Myers 14. Totals 22 13-30 61.
3PG: Kostyk 2, Schell, Smith.
CAPE CORAL (36) – Alcide 2, Lewis 10, Trammell 0, Atkins 3, Perez 0, Moreno 2, McCoy 5, Blissett 12, Calderon 2. Totals 10 13-18 36.
3PG: Blissett 2, Atkins.