We headed up Florida’s Turnpike to take in this past Saturday’s edition of The Villages Fall League, presented by Hoop Vibe. A total of 13 games took place on two separate courts. We took in seven games over the course of the day.
Game One: Ocala Trinity Catholic vs. Wildwood
After a 2-2 start in the first minute of the contest, Trinity Catholic dominated. After one quarter of ten-minute running clock, the Celtics were up 22-2. It got no better at the break as Trinity was up 40-8. Wildwood’s youth and inexperience playing together led to a lot of turnovers and questionable shot selection, much of which should be remedied by the time Thanksgiving rolls around. Ultimately, Trinity Catholic won convincingly by the score of 68-35.
Jonah Martin, a 5’11 junior, led Trinity Catholic with 12 points.
Ashton Wilson, a 5’7 senior, paced Wildwood 9 points.
Game Two: Leesburg vs. Winter Park Lake Howell
Leesburg jumped on top early in this one, leading 23-8 after one quarter and 28-12 at the half. Lake Howell got going in the third quarter, chopping the margin down to eight, 31-23, heading into the final period. With one minute to play, Lake Howell was within one possession, down 44-42. The shot to tie the game was off-target and the Silver Hawks had to foul to stop the clock. Life was given when Leesburg missed the first free throw but made the second, making it a three-point game. Lake Howell had a decent look from three, but the shot was off target. Leesburg held on to win by the score of 45-42.
Xavier Campbell, a 6’0 senior, led Leesburg with 17 points.
For Lake Howell, 6’5 sophomore Dax Philogeon, was the top scorer with 14 points.
Game Three: Deltona Pine Ridge vs. Orlando Olympia
Pine Ridge came in without 6’8 senior Henry Robinson, a national top 100 player, who was on a recruiting trip to Jacksonville University. Still, it was a well-played first quarter with Olympia up just a point, 21-20. Pine Ridge was able to keep pace in both the second and third quarters, trailing 34-29 and 49-41 respectively. The opening moments of the final period proved to be disastrous for Pine Ridge as the Titans ran off fifteen straight points to blow the game open. Olympia eventually won big by the score of 76-51, but it doesn’t indicate how close the game was for three quarters.
Olympia was led by 6’1 junior Braden Perry with 11 points.
Jayden Strawder, a 6’7 junior, paced Pine Ridge with 17 points.
Game Four: Winter Haven vs. Gainesville Oak Hall
This game was slated to be Winter Haven vs. Orlando Edgewater, but Edgewater had to cancel due to a lack of able bodies. Fortunately, Oak Hall was able to fill in on short notice. Oak Hall got out early, getting a lot of transition points and three-point buckets to lead 31-14 after one quarter of play. Winter Haven was able to turn things around in the second quarter. What looked to be a blow out was now a tight contest as the score was 47-43 in favor of Oak Hall at the break. The third quarter was a repeat of the first as Oak Hall got into an offensive rhythm that Winter Have found difficult to break. Oak Hall led 69-51 with one quarter remaining. There would be no magical run for Winter Haven in the fourth quarter. Oak Hall was able to hold off the Blue Devils to win by the score of 90-79.
Max Whitmer, a 6’1 senior, led Oak Hall with 24 points, nailing six shots from beyond the arc in the process.
For Winter Haven, C.J. Thomas, a 6’3 junior, led all scorers with 29 points.
Special mention must be given to Oak Hall’s 6’6 sophomore Avery Jones. Our unofficial stats have him finishing with 7 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.
Game Five: The Villages Charter vs. Tampa SFA
The Villages were missing some key components in this contest as both 6’1 sophomore Camryn Lee and 6’5 junior Miles Simpson were out with injuries and 6’1 senior Aaron Britt, a top 100 player nationally, was on a recruiting visit. SFA took advantage quickly as they got out to an early 10-2 lead. After one quarter, SFA was up 15-7. The Villages made several runs in the second quarter but were down five, 25-20, at the break.
The teams played evenly in the third period but that only means that The Villages were unable to break SFA’s stranglehold on the lead. Things got very interesting as the final minutes of the fourth period began to wind down. With twenty-two seconds left, The Villages dropped in a pair of free throws to get to within one, 49-48. They then forced a turnover with twenty seconds to play and had a chance for the win. However, fate was unkind and The Villages turned the ball over with just under five seconds to play. Forced to foul, SFA went to the line to shoot a pair. The first free throw was missed but the second found its mark. The Villages shot to win was off target and SFA pulls off a mild upset by the score of 50-48.
Donovan Gaines, a 6’4 senior, led SFA with 16 points.
For The Villages, 6’7 senior Jomar Bernard led all scorers with 21 points.
Game Six: Lakeland Victory Christian vs. Gainesville P.K. Yonge
Victory Christian was impressive when we saw them at the Bartow Fall Shootout a couple of weeks ago. However, it was Yonge that got going quickly, leading 13-8 after one period. Victory finally tied the game late in the second quarter and the teams were tied at the half, 22-22.
Victory used its height advantage to great effect in the third period to take a lead, but it was unable to put much distance between them and Yonge. With one quarter to play, it was anybody’s game at 42-36 in favor of Victory. It took awhile but Victory was able to pull away midway thru the final period to win by the score of 68-55.
Tico Smith, a 6’1 junior, led Victory Christian with 16 points.
Jaden Harriot, a 6’0 sophomore, led P.K. Yonge with 14 points.
Game Seven: Lake City Columbia vs. Tampa Morgan
The final contest of the day got off to an interesting start. Morgan scored the first eleven points of the game. After a timeout, Columbia scored the next ten points. Morgan eventually had a 17-13 lead going into the second quarter. From there, Columbia took control. They led 31-21 at the break and never let Morgan get much closer than that. Columbia would go on to win by the score of 63-52.
Columbia was led by 5’11 senior Kadrian Wilson with 16 points.
For Morgan, Troy Russell, a 6’2 sophomore, paced the team with 14 points