Island Coast falls third time at Great 8
Island Coast was unable to climb over the hump in Wednesday’s 7th place game in the Ocoee Great 8 Classic, falling to Orlando Colonial 68-53.
“We had our weaknesses exposed,” said Gators coach Greg Coleman. “We have things to work on going forward and can fix some of those for the shootout on Saturday.”
The Gators (8-8) lost all three games in the tournament to quality opponents. Pleasure Ridge Park (Ky.) played in the City of Palms Classic just a few years ago and Union City has won seven of the last 10 state championships in Tennessee.
“We learned we can’t win unless we play hard all the time,” added Coleman. “In three tournament games we averaged 23 turnovers. You can’t win making that many.”
The Gators were guilty of 18 turnovers on Wednesday after turning the ball over 35 times in the opener against Pleasure Ridge Park on Monday.
Craig Sirmons led a threesome of Gators scoring in double figures with 16 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Justin Moore contributed 14 points and Quad Jenkins 12 points.
The Gators face host Venice on Saturday in the Battle of the Beach Shootout. Mariner puts its unbeaten streak on the line earlier in the day against Palmetto.
The regular season schedule resumes next week.