Gators drops first two in Ocoee Great 8 Tournament
Senior Quad Jenkins didn’t reach double figures Tuesday afternoon in leading Island Coast in scoring as the Gators were completely dominated 71-33 by Union City (Tenn.) in the consolation round of the Ocoee Great 8 Tournament.
No Gators player reached double figures Tuesday with Jenkins topping the group with eight points. Union City raced to a 28-point lead by halftime and coasted the rest of the way.
The Gators (8-7) play for seventh place in the eight-team tournament at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday against Orlando Colonial.
“We had no continuity on offense,” said Gators coach Greg Coleman. “You just never know what you will get when you go out of town, out of your normal routine. We just did not play very hard. The goal is just to go out with a win here.”
The Gators made a better accounting of themselves Monday night in the first round of the tournament against Pleasure Ridge Park (Ky.), eventually falling 83-62.
Sam Merchant pitched in a team-high 24 points to top the Gators, but it was not enough to overcome 35 turnovers.
Merchant also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go with three assists. He had double-figure help from Jenkins with 13 points, six rebounds.
The Gators (8-6) trailed by 10 points after the first period and eight at halftime, but Coleman said they played the team out of Louisville evenly through the second half.
“If we could get them out of their pressing defense they were just an average half-court team,” Coleman said. “But we couldn’t get them out of it with all of our turnovers.”
The Gators look ahead to the Venice Battle of the Beach Shootout on Saturday when they encounter the host Venice Indians at 4:30 p.m. Mariner takes on Palmetto at 1:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Evangelical Christian 68, Cape Coral 64: Evangelical surprised Cape Coral by opening a 15-point advantage, but the Seahawks never gave up by launching a come-from-behind rally to make the Sentinels sweat it out at the end, but held on for a four-point victory Tuesday in the Queen of Palms Tournament at Dunbar.
Holly Golden scored 32 points to lead ECS with Mckenzie Lynk contributing 14 points. Both completed double-double efforts with 10 rebounds apiece.
ECS faces Manatee in the final round Wednesday while Cape takes on an opponent to be determined.