By Kyle LoJacono
The Wiregrass Ranch boys basketball team won the first regional tournament game in program history by defeating Wesley Chapel 94-75 at home Feb. 17.
The Bulls (22-7) took a 52-26 lead into halftime of the Class 4A regional quarterfinals, but had to ward off a 30-point quarter by the Wildcats (13-16) in the third that closed the score to 72-56.
“I don’t think my kids believed what we were telling them in the locker room; this is Wesley Chapel,” said Bulls coach Jeremy Calzone. “It doesn’t have anything to do with the playoffs. It’s about being just three miles away. It’s always going to be a tough game for us. They always play us hard, especially when we beat them by 30 a week and a half ago. We knew they were going to be angry, but they didn’t believe it. They just decided not to play any defense.”
Wesley Chapel sophomore guard Christian Parra sparked that comeback with a 3-pointer on the opening possession of the second half. The Wildcats went on a 15-3 run to start the third, including nine points by Parra.
“He’s good. He’s excellent,” Calzone said of Parra. “He’s one of the best young guards in this county.…He’s their leader out there. When he got confidence, I got nervous because they feed off his confidence.”
Parra lead all scorers with 29 points and added seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. He is part of a very young nucleus for the Wildcats.
“Being in the playoffs is a great experience for us,” said Wesley Chapel coach Doug Greseth. “We
started two sophomores and two freshmen tonight and we’re only going to get better. I was very proud of the way we came out in the second half. We were down big in the first half and I couldn’t be prouder of the way they came back in the game.”
The Bulls got into foul trouble in the second half, including committing 10 team fouls before the fourth quarter started that allowed the Wildcats to shoot two free throws after every foul for the rest of the contest.
“It was a relief to get this win,” said senior James Tringali. “They snuck up on us in the third quarter. Coach Calzone said they would. They’re young and are hungry. We didn’t come out the way we should have in the third quarter, but we came out on top and get to move on. You’ve got to be happy and just go back to work.”
Tringali is one of seven seniors on the Wiregrass Ranch’s 14-man roster. The only starter who is not a senior is Rico Kerney, who scored a team-high 16 points and added 10 rebounds.
“Me being a sophomore, I wanted to win for the older guys,” Kerney said. “They’ve helped me get better and we want to keep this going for them.”
Seniors Michael Chase and Kingsley Boateng each added 13 points for the Bulls. Also scoring in double figures for Wiregrass Ranch were seniors Antwan Prince, 12; Tanner Carey, 11; Josiah Jones, 11; and Tringali, 10.
Tringali also had a team high 13 assists and pulled down eight rebounds.
The Bulls will next host district rival Nature Coast in the regional semifinals at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 22. Wiregrass Ranch beat the Sharks to win the 4A-8 district championship.
“In the back of our heads I think we knew and I think Nature Coast is going to be ready,” Calzone said of the rematch. “They’re going to be ready. We were celebrating on their floor with a district championship. I told my kids they better be ready to come play on Tuesday or it’s going to be a long night.”
Patriots go down in quarterfinals
The Carrollwood Day boys basketball team played in the first regional tournament game in school history Feb. 17, but could not get past Naples Seacrest Country Day.
Mike Filer led all Patriots (15-9) scores with 11 points, but Carrollwood Day could not match the Stingrays offense, losing 68-36 in the 1A regional quarterfinals.
