By Jeff Odom
The seven-year district title drought is over for the Wesley Chapel boys basketball team.
The top-seeded Wildcats (24-4) never trailed after the opening basket and dominated No. 3 Anclote 65-46 Feb. 9 for the Class 5A-District 8 championship.
It is Wesley Chapel’s third trip to the finals in as many seasons, but this one didn’t end with the heartbreak of years past.
“This is the year we finally pulled it off, man,” said senior forward Erik Thomas, who finished with a game-high 25 points, seven rebounds and six steals. “It feels great, and we all wanted it. We all played hard, and it turned out that we came up on top.”
Wildcats coach Doug Greseth said the biggest difference this time around was his team’s maturity level.
“We’ve just got a ton of experience, and it really shows in games like this,” Greseth said. “Our kids were really hungry, and at the beginning of the year we wanted to do three things — win a conference championship, which we did, win the district tournament and our last one is advance to the final four. We’ve got a good chance to do it.”
The Wildcats were relentless offensively in the first quarter, opening with a 17-4 run behind junior guard Carson Emery (15 points) and Thomas.
Emery said the team knew it would be a tough test going up against the Sharks (17-9), which dealt Wesley Chapel its only district loss.
“I feel like we have five players that can do it, and we wanted this so bad,” Emery said. “Our mindset was different, and we just came into it ready to play. Our head was in the right place, and we just got the job done.”
After taking a 14-point lead at halftime, Wesley Chapel continued to roll in the second half as Emery nailed a pair of 3-pointers to stop a 6-2 run by Anclote and ended the third ahead 50-30.
Wildcats junior center Marcus Hayne, who picked up eight rebounds, credited his team’s poise at the free throw line (26 for 34) and said they weren’t going out without a title.
“With the talent we have on our team, we could have done it a long, long time ago, but I guess today was the day that we just broke out,” Hayne said. “This is our year. We were hungry, and we needed it. We really did great.”
Greseth pulled his starters with less than two minutes to play in the fourth quarter, and Thomas was welcomed with a loud, standing ovation from the fans.
The senior clapped his hands, waved to the crowd and wrapped his arms around the 10th-year coach for a long hug before taking a seat on the bench.
“It’s about time,” Thomas said with a deep breath.
When the final buzzer sounded, the 6-foot-5 senior grabbed the championship trophy, kissed it and held it high in the air.
“We’re part of history now,” Thomas said. “There’s not anybody else that’s going to come back and do what we did in these past four years, and I’m just glad we could do this for my coach, and it’s a great accomplishment.”
Wesley Chapel hosts Eustis in the regional quarterfinals Feb. 14 at 7 p.m.
—Follow Jeff Odom on Twitter: @JOdomLaker
