Holiday Festivities kept this writer from attending the full first day of The Florida Get Down in Orlando as we were only able to take in the first three games of the slate of six. However, our Social Media Director, The Genius that is Al Arnold, was there and will have a full account on the Twitter/X page @coachal100. Be sure to follow if you aren’t already.
Game One: Orlando Wekiva vs. Riviera Beach Suncoast
The Chargers of Suncoast hit the road early while Wekiva was just a short twenty-minute drive away. Both teams seemed to have a bit of Thanksgiving hangover as the score was only 6-4 in favor of the Mustangs from Wekiva mid-way thru the opening period. Suncoast was able to keep pace and was down just 10-8 heading into the second quarter. Wekiva opened the second period with an 11-0 run as Ian Smikle, a 6’9 senior for Suncoast heading to Tulsa, picked up his second foul early and went to the bench. The score was 19-10 in favor of the Mustangs at the four-minute mark when the Chargers called a timeout. Smikle came back in and Suncoast finished the half with a 10-5 run to make the score 24-20 in favor of Wekiva at the break.
Suncoast broke out some extended defensive pressure to start the third and it quickly paid off. The Chargers took the lead at 28-27 at the 5:45 mark but Wekiva rallied and the score was tied at 31-31 midway thru the quarter. The teams played evenly the rest of the quarter and Suncoast was up by a deuce, 38-36 going into the final period. A 9-0 run by Suncoast to start the fourth effectively put the game away. The Chargers’ lead grew to double digits, 51-39, with 4:10 to go. Wekiva was not able to mount a run and Suncoast won comfortable, 57-44.
Smikle was named Player of the Game for Suncoast as he finished with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. Jamaury Harris added 16 points while Joseph Renna contributed 12 points. Elijah Walthall added 8 points and almost equaled that with 7 steals.
For Wekiva, Ju Ju Johnson was named the Mustangs’ Player of the Game with 11 points. Darion Thomas actually led the team with 14 points.
Game Two: Daytona Beach Mainland vs. Bradenton Victory Rock Prep
Both teams got off to a pretty good start as the score was 9-7 in favor of Mainland midway thru the first quarter. Shortly thereafter, Matthieu Biembongo, a 6’9 junior and Victory Rock’s best player, went down clutching an ankle. He would not return. At that point Mainland closed out the quarter on a 9-2 run to go up 18-9. It didn’t take long for Mainland to extend its lead in the second quarter. VRP struggled to get good shots and the ones they did get didn’t go down. Mainland led 26-14 midway thru the second and pushed its advantage to 41-20 at the half.
To Victory Rock’s credit, they stayed relatively even with Mainland in the third quarter. However, they were still down 55-32 with one period left to play. VRP simply could not generate any offense and Mainland took advantage. With Vince Carter in the house, mainly rolled to a 66-36 win.
Nate Kirk, a 6’0 sophomore, led Mainland with 20 points and was named Player of the Game for the Buccaneers. Narayan Thomas, a 6’3 senior, was close behind with 17 points.
For the Blue Devils of Victory Rock Prep, 6’4 senior Deven Butler tossed in 13 points on his way to being named his team’s Player of the Game.
Game Three: Palm Bay vs. Campbell (GA)
It looked like Palm Bay would run away and hide after jetting out to a 7-0 lead in the first two minutes of play and 10-2 midway thru the opening quarter. Both teams were playing at a fast pace but Palm Bay was making the most of its opportunities and led 12-5 after one period. The tide turned in the second as Campbell put up a 12-0 spurt in the first four minutes to lead 17-12. Palm Bay eventually got itself together and ended the half down six at 22-16.
Campbell grew its lead to nine at 30-21 with 4:21 left in the third before Palm Bay called a timeout. Unfortunately, it didn’t help. Campbell closed out the period with a 10-2 run and led by seventeen, 40-23 with one period remaining. Try as they might, Palm Bay was never able to cut the deficit to single digits. Campbell would ultimately go on to win by the score of 52-41.
Kaylan Robinson led Campbell with 17 points and was named Player of the Game. Both Fe’Royre Hugh and Sharif Mosley each scored 10 points.
Armani Singleton had 9 points for Palm Bay was named his team’s Player of the Game. Willie Burnette also tossed in 9 points for Palm Bay.
The Florida Get Down continues with a solid slate of the following games:
11:00AM Riviera Beach Suncoast vs. Orlando Jones
12:30PM Orlando Wekiva vs. GA Tri-Cities
2:00PM Tallahassee FSU High vs. GA Creekside Christian
3:30PM Winter Haven vs. GA Campbell
5:00PM Riverview Bell Creek Academy vs. Palm Bay
6:30PM Daytona Beach Mainland vs. Gainesville The Rock School
8:00PM Orlando Olympia vs. The Villages Charter
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