Windermere Prep was the site of the Orlando Health Hoop Fest this past Saturday. Five games were played throughout the day filled with great hoops action.
Game #1: Orlando Cypress Creek vs. West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman
Despite the three-hour trip north on the Florida Turnpike, Newman got out to a fast 6-0 start, forcing a Cypress Creek timeout just over two minutes into the contest. The stoppage in play didn’t help and Newman held a 19-10 advantage going into the second quarter. Cypress Creek got things going a bit better in the following period, but the Bears were still down eight, 35-27, at the break.
That deficit didn’t last long in the third period. A 12-0 blitz by Cypress Creek over the first minute and a half of play gave them a 39-35 lead, forcing the Crusaders to call a timeout. It didn’t help as the Bears used their speed and quickness to build on their margin, leading by a many as eleven points before finishing out the period up 58-50. Newman was unable to recover and couldn’t make any real dent in the deficit in that final period. Cypress Creek came out on top 75-67.
A pair of seniors led the Bears in scoring. Alikai Creque, a 6’7 forward, and Kingston Baez, a 6’1 guard, each contributed 15 points. Kason Beezer, a 6’2 junior, tossed in 14 points.
For Newman, L.T. Noegel, a 6’5 senior and 6’6 senior Graden Goodyear scored 15 points each while 6’2 senior Jayden Fenelus added 11 points.
Game #2: Orlando Bishop Moore vs. Jacksonville Providence
This contest got off to a slow start as midway through the first quarter, Providence led by just 5-4. The last four minutes of the period wasn’t much prettier as Providence held an 8-4 lead going into the second period. Bishop Moore continued to struggle offensively in the period and for a total of ten and a half minutes of game time over the course of the first and second period, they didn’t score at all. Providence wasn’t torching the nets either but at the break led 23-11.
The ball found its way into the basket a bit more often for both teams in the second half. Bishop Moore at least kept the game even, shaving the margin from twelve to eleven, 40-29, going into the final period. With four minutes left in the fourth, Providence was up 51-36 and the game looked over. That wasn’t the case as Bishop Moore started finding the range on perimeter shots. With thirty seconds left, Bishop Moore drained a three to get to within 56-51. With ten seconds left, another three got them to within 58-54. However, not enough time remained for a full comeback. Providence was able to convert their foul shots to head home with a 60-54 win.
Will Stewart, a 6’1 freshman, led the Stallions with 19 points. Will Rydzewski, a 6’6 sophomore, also finished with 19 points while 6’3 sophomore Ryan Gornto added 12 points.
Bishop Moore had three players in double figures. Mark Dadlani, a 6’5 sophomore led the team with 20 points, all but two coming in the final quarter. Jisiah White, a 6’0 junior, tallied 13 points while 6’8 junior Connor Corris finished with 12 points.
Game #3: Windermere vs. Fort Myers Gateway Charter
Our expectation heading into the contest was that this would be a battle between two of the better “bigs” in the state. Windermere’s 6’8 senior T.J. Drain has already signed with Liberty University while 6’8 senior Patrick Johnson of Gateway Charter continues to mull over his options.
It was 4-0 in favor of Windermere in the first thirty seconds or so and Gateway Charter had seen enough to call a timeout. With three minutes left in the first, Windermere led just 6-5 and now it was the Wolverines to ask for a stoppage in play. Magic words must have been spoken because Windermere finished the quarter on an 8-2 run to lead 14-7 going into the second period. Midway thru the second period Gateway had to closed to within four, 21-17. At that point, Windermere took its defense up more than just a notch. They finished the half with a 14-6 run to lead by a dozen, 35-23, at the break.
Things actually got worse for Gateway Charter in the third period. Made shots were few and turnovers were plentiful. Windermere seemed to take advantage of every Gateway misfire building a 63-31 advantage going into the final quarter. With 4:45 remaining and the score 69-33, the running clock kicked in. The benches were emptied to give each practice squad a healthy run. Windermere won big, 74-41.
The Wolverines placed five players in double figures, led by 6’3 junior Lucas Boyd with 15 points and seemingly that many steals. Drain scored 14 points, 6’2 senior Korvantae Hatter added 13 points and 6’4 senior Andreas Smith finished with 11 points.
For Gateway Charter, Myles Jones, a 6’3 senior led the team with 11 points and 5’10 senior Gio Easley tossed in 10 points.
Game #4: Windermere Prep vs. Bartow
The host team Lakers took on the task of facing a young but deep and athletic Bartow squad. Bartow played a tough one on Friday night and looked sluggish as Windermere Prep raced out to a 10-0 lead two and a half minutes into the contest. Bartow got their collective legs under them after a timeout but were still down eight, 23-15, going into the second quarter. Bartow got the game to their tempo in the second and with four minutes gone in the period, had grabbed a 27-25 lead. The Yellow Jackets didn’t stop there as they led 34-29 at the break.
Bartow maintained their lead in the third quarter, up 38-34 midway through the period. At that point, the Lakers got on a run, finishing out the quarter with a 12-5 flurry to take a 46-43 lead into the final quarter. Windermere Prep continued its offensive wizardry, pushing their advantage to ten, 57-47, with 4:45 remaining. Bartow was unable to overcome that deficit and Windermere Prep won by that same margin, 74-64.
Brandon Bass, Jr., a 6’5 junior, led the Lakers with 24 points. Sam Shoptaw, a 6’3 senior, tossed in 14 points while both Zihang Fan, a 6’5 sophomore and Isaiah Gillard, a 6’2 junior, each tallied 12 points.
For Bartow, 5’10 sophomore Jaziah Battle led the way with 17 points. Jah’mir Wallace, a 6’4 freshman, had 13 points and 5’10 sophomore Messiah Borders finished with 10 points.
Game #5: Orlando Olympia vs. Episcopal School of Jacksonville
A young Olympia squad got out the gates quickly, leading 9-0 at the four-minute mark, forcing an Episcopal timeout. The stoppage may have slowed the Titans down a bit but entering the second quarter they held a 16-4 lead. In the second period, Episcopal slowly chipped away at the deficit. A late rally got them to within seven at the break, 29-22.
In the third, Episcopal continued to edge closer and was down just four, 33-29, midway through the period. A late run by Olympia seemed to get them back on track. Going into the final period, the Titans’ lead was seven, 42-35. A 7-0 run by Episcopal tied the game at 42-42 with 6:11 left to play. Less than two minutes later, Episcopal grabbed its first lead of the contest, 46-45. At that point, Olympia produced an 8-0 run, leaving Episcopal little time and energy left to make another comeback. Olympia was able to hold on for a 55-51 win.
Nick Blake, a 6’2 senior, led Olympia with 19 points, 18 from beyond the arc. Bishop Wenze, a 6’7 sophomore, contributed 12 points.
For Episcopal, 6’1 junior Nolan Schwartz tossed in 20 points while 6’0 senior Will Moore delivered 10 points.