By Jeff Odom
There are times this season where youth and inexperience has hurt the Land O’ Lakes boys basketball team.
That wasn’t the case in the Class 6A-District 10 tournament.
The No. 2 seed Gators (11-12) defeated No. 4 Tarpon Springs 48-46 in the semifinals Feb. 6 and hung with top-seeded Mitchell in the finals before ultimately losing 64-40 Feb. 8.
Land O’ Lakes coach David Puhalski said it will be a benefit for his younger players to have a taste of what the postseason is like.
“Just for these kids to have an opportunity, whether it’s on the road or at home, and to get in this atmosphere will be good,” Puhalski said. “Only two or three guys have seen it, so it’ll be a good eye-opener for them and we just hope to play well.”
Sophomore guard Mike Obi led his team with 11 points against the Mustangs (20-7) in the finals.
In the semifinals, both teams failed to muster much on the scoreboard to open the game, shooting a combined 2 for 19 from the field with the Gators up 4-2 at the end of the first quarter.
“We’re not a very good team offensively anyways, so the sloppier the better,” Puhalski said. “We just don’t have scorers yet, and we’ve got to manufacture points defensively with some steals and try to get out on a run a little bit.”
Land O’ Lakes hit its stride in the second quarter by turning multiple Spongers (12-12) errors into points and having success at the free throw line, where the Gators finished 22-of-35.
Obi (13 points) said he knew Tarpon Springs would defend him hard, but he kept his composure.
“We had to spread the ball and be patient,” Obi said. “They have young guys out there that also worked hard, and I think we’ll be fine.”
The Spongers couldn’t stay out of foul trouble in the second half as Land O’ Lakes opened the third with two quick trips to the line. Still, Tarpon Springs held tight as the two teams traded leads five times in the period.
“We’re so young,” Puhalski said. “We started a freshman and two sophomores, and they were our main players. … Offensively we don’t have anything to speak of, but we’ll win ugly.”
The Gators entered the fourth quarter with a one-point lead, but once again the Spongers stayed on their heels and took the lead back with 1:21 to go.
That’s when Land O’ Lakes sophomore guard Tommy Guglielmello stepped up.
Down by one with one minute to play, Guglielmello took one step outside the arc and nailed a 3-pointer to take back the lead.
“I just caught it, saw the rim and shot,” said Guglielmello, who finished with seven points. “I was a little off balance, but it went in. Knowing it was close, yeah, I was nervous. I just overcame it.”
The Gators travel to Winter Haven Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. for the regional quarterfinals.
—Follow Jeff Odom on Twitter: @JOdomLaker
