The #2 seed SCF basketball team (20-11) punched their way closer to states as they defeated #3 St. Pete (14-17) 90-75 in the Suncoast Conference Tournament Semifinals at Hal Chasey Gymnasium. With the win, the Manatees are now 9-21 against the Titans and will face #1 Polk State (21-9), who defeated #4 seed Hillsborough (10-18) 91-89 in double overtime.
"What I told the guys was anytime you beat an Earnest Crumbley coached St. Pete College basketball team, it is a great win," said head coach Tom Parks. "That man, who is a hall of famer for a reason, can coach. He's taken teams like that to the national tournament out of Florida and won state championships. He is a legend and the thing about St. Pete is they don't care how much time is on the clock or what the score is, they will battle every single possession and rebound harder than any team I played this year, probably even one of the hardest rebounding teams in the country in terms of their effort. They guard all the time, they attack the paint, drive, post up, pretty much everything they do is physical and intense."
"I felt really good today," said sophomore Isiah Dasher. "We had a bad six out of the last eight games we played, but we picked it up. I feel confident no matter if we play Polk State or Hillsborough that they're locked in ready to go."
"It a great feeling right now to know that my second year here we have achance to win it all again," said sophomore D'Moi Hodge. "Right now I feel good, but I don't feel accomplished right now until the game tomorrow."
"It was a tough game," said sophomore Max Bell-Ramos. "We were up by like 16 until St. Pete came out clutch and they came close to catching up to us. Good thing all the guys stepped up so we could get the 'W' tonight. Polk will be a tough opponent, but we can handle it."
Offensively, it was surprisingly Dasher that led the Manatees as he finished with 24 points (8-for-14 FG, 1-for-5 3PT, 6-for-6 FT), four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. Hodge followed with his 12th career double-double as he finished with 21 points (8-for-18 FG, 4-for-11 3PT, 1-for-2 FT), 11 rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
"I think it's pretty incredible that you have a kid that signed a national letter of intent in July before the August when he reports to campus in six weeks," said Parks on Hodge. "The fact that nobody wanted to sign him yet and was able to take a program that finished the previous two seasons before with 13 wins (2017-18) in one season and six (2016-17) in the other before we had 18 wins (2018-19) and led the team in scoring, rebounding, blocking and stealing before leading the state in scoring and to the first 20 win season, is quite remarkable."
Bell-Ramos rounded out the order with a tied career-high 14 points (4-for-7 FG, 6-for-8 FT), one rebound and three assists.
"It felt good to get that many points," said Bell-Ramos on his performance. "Some guys were hurt and I seized my opportunity for a way to help out the team."
"Max always has had what it takes," said Parks on Bell-Ramos. "He's an unbelievable kid with a very interesting story, he's so humble and really wants to do right and please you. Max is really talented and really skilled and there's no one more deserving than him to have him on my team."
Sophomore Christnoff Scarborough and freshman Marshall Kearing each had eight points, a steal and two blocks. Scarborough (4-for-7 FG) added 10 rebounds, while Kearing (4-for-6 FG) added seven rebounds.
Sophomore Remy Robert II (six points, one rebound, two assists and two steals), redshirt freshman Calvin McCutcheon (one rebound) and freshmen Jordan Clark (seven points, five rebounds and four assists), Michael Gavin (two points, two assists and one steal) and Sam Grayson (one rebound) also contributed in the game.
The first half was smooth sailing for the Manatees with a 15-6 lead. With 13 minutes left, Hodge with an open opportunity took a difficult 3-point shot in success at the right wing. Meanwhile, Dasher continued to play his strong role offensively in which he scored 13 points in the first half.
With nine minutes left in the first half, Hodge would secure his second 3-pointer, which would turn out to be the record-breaking point that Hodge needed. At the end of the first, the Manatees were ahead 45-29 at the end of the first half.
In the second half, the Manatees started to struggle and decreasing their lead by as much as eight points, but in the end they were able to recover and seal the deal for the win.
Notes:
With his 21 points, Hodge has now set the program record and has surpassed James Life (1,341, 2005-06) for most career points with 1,356. In addition, Hodge has 758 points this season and needs five more points to break Life's single season points record (762).
"It feels good to know that I came here to handle what I normally do," said Hodge on breaking the program career record. "It's a great milestone to know that I made to be a part of SCF history until someone comes along, but it feels great."
Dasher's 24 points put him at 968 in his career and needs 32 to reach 1,000 career points and the second active player to do so.
"Today I stopped thinking about the milestone of 1,000 points," said Dasher. "I just started to hoop. I sat out for two straight games and let it go because it's all about wins and to get to states and we don't just want to go to states, we want to win states so we got some games to handle."
"Zay is one of those players that when he gets hurt or when he's out, he's not the same player and it's even the same way when he doesn't have the rhythm and takes him a while to get him back into it," said Parks on Dasher. "He started struggling when we played against FSW and Polk on that stretch, but then he started playing better against SPC. He played ok against HCC, but that was to his strengths. Tonight, Zay had a lot more pep in his step because he needs to have his athleticism back so he can have that explosive step after he freezes somebody."
This was the Manatees' 20th win this season and the most for the team thus far.
Up Next:
The Manatees will travel to Winter Haven to face Polk State in the finals of the Suncoast Conference Tournament. The winner will punch their ticket join Suncoast Conference Regular Season Champion #1 FSW (29-1) in the FCSAA State Tournament in Niceville, hosted by Northwest Florida State.
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