By Kyle LoJacono
It took all 32 minutes, but the Wiregrass Ranch boys basketball team earned its third straight playoff berth with a 63-59 win over Freedom in the Class 7A-District 9 semifinals Feb. 6.
“It’s only our seventh year, so three out of seven years is pretty impressive for a new school,” said Bulls coach Jeremy Calzone, the only coach in program history. “It’s all about the kids. I just stand on the sidelines and yell like a crazy person. They did a great job making plays down the stretch.”
The squads split their regular-season meetings, with the No. 2 seed Patriots (14-6) taking the first 66-57 and third-seeded Wiregrass Ranch (20-7) responding with a 68-46 victory. Calzone knew they’d be in for a tighter matchup in districts.
“Coach (Cedric) Smith is a great coach; he does a great job with those guys, and this is kind of a neighborhood game,” Calzone said. “They all know each other, so we knew they were going to play with pride.”
The Bulls fell behind 18-11 late in the first quarter, but chipped away throughout the half and closed with an 8-2 run to enter the break ahead 28-25.
“We just weren’t playing Wiregrass basketball,” Calzone said. “We don’t play slow down, play with the basketball-type tempo. We go, go, go. For some reason in the first quarter we were trying to play their game, not our game.”
The Patriots got a small victory near the end of the half by forcing Wiregrass Ranch leading scorer and rebounder Rico Kerney to the bench with three fouls. The senior forward said he had one thought as he sat for much of the third quarter.
“I was just thinking I don’t want my senior season to end,” Kerney said.
Kerney responded with 11 of his 17 points in the fourth while adding eight rebounds.
“He didn’t get his head down,” Calzone said. “Earlier in the season if he got in foul trouble he’d put his head down a little bit. Tonight he kept his head in the game and kept his team in the game, and I was proud of that.”
The Bulls got a boost from the return of senior point guard Dimarco Burgess, who missed the previous seven games with a sprained ankle.
“Today was my first game back,” said Burgess, who put up five of his six points in the fourth. “I was in practice yesterday and I was iffy, but I knew I had to forget about the ankle and just play. … It was just play through it because, if we lose, it’s my last game.”
Wiregrass Ranch senior guards Chris Parra and Larrentz Manora had 13 and 11 points, respectively, while senior forward Ricky Ramirez scored 12 while adding five rebounds.
Freedom was led by senior guard Antwan Bradley’s 27 points. Senior forwards Brandon Patchan (11 rebounds) and Stephen Odunna (nine rebounds) added 12 and 10 to the Patriots’ offense.
The Bulls came up short of the district title, falling to the top-seeded Chamberlain 66-56 Feb. 8.
Wiregrass Ranch plays its regional quarterfinals Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. at St. Petersburg.
—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker
