Gainesville’s Sharing Leads To Team Win In Battle of the Hurricanes

(Senior guard Kaijon Scott & sophomore guard J'len Wilson walk on court for the start of their matchup against Lake Weir High School at "The Purple Palace" on Tuesday, December 13, 2016 in Gainesville, Florida.)

Sometimes it’s not about how you start. It’s how you finish.

Gainesville junior forward Josh Dudley created an uproar amongst the crowd by finishing with a tomahawk dunk late in the fourth quarter. This moment capsulized how the entire game played out, as the Gainesville Hurricanes (6-1) defeated the Lake Weir Hurricanes (1-5) on Tuesday, 62-34.

Both teams got off to a slow start offensively, but it didn’t take long for Gainesville junior Christian Miller-Cardwell and senior Kaijon Scott to help their team pull away. Both players delivered a great performance on both sides of the ball.

Gainesville High head coach Kelly Beckham said his strategy coming into the game involved challenging his team to share the ball more. As a whole, the team posted 17 assists on 24 made baskets.

Despite the blowout, Gainesville still has some cleaning up to do on offense.

“If we’re playing a top team, we can’t have 16 turnovers if we want to be successful,” Beckham said.

Beckham voiced that the amount of turnovers could have been the result of letting the bench get some reps in. Every player on the roster scored, but the true spark off the bench was Kishon Mayes, who scored eight points.

Gainesville’s heart and fabric is their defense. Throughout the game, they used their length to cause numerous turnovers.

Beckham credits their strength coach for the offseason conditioning and workouts for the speed and endurance the ‘Canes displayed throughout the game. He’s responsible for the highlight dunk by Dudley, who stands at a 5’8” stature.

The Lake Weir Hurricanes put up a strong fight, but fell short. Pivotal juniors such as guard Seymour Williams and forward Javon Meggie held their composure as they did their best to try to pull an upset.

Lake Weir showed a strong defensive performance causing Gainesville to lose the ball a lot, but were limited on offense because of the harassing defense by GHS. A spark that ignited during the fourth quarter was a little too late for a comeback, but they showed perseverance toward the end.

Despite the box score, this was a hard fought game as the Lake Weir Hurricanes displayed heart and a lot of promise from their young core.

Notables GHS Christian Miller-Cardwell -13 points

Kaijon Scott - 10 points

LW Seymour Williams - 12 points

Javon Meggie - 8 points

Next Games Gainesville High School plays at Palatka on Saturday, 12/16. Lake Weir plays at Ocala-Forest tonight, 12/15