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Calvary regains discipline to win Shorecrest tourney

 
Published Dec. 23, 2016

ST. PETERSBURG — Despite being down two starters and, after the first minute and 17 seconds of play, 12 points, Berkeley Prep showed a lot of resolve.

Battling Calvary Christian on Thursday for the Shorecrest Holiday Tournament title, the trio of freshman Kegan Karnes and juniors Zach Mathis and Kaleb Karnes (combined 28 first-half points, 31 total) allowed the Buccaneers to emerge with a four-point lead.

But when the Warriors clamped down on Berkeley ball handlers, Calvary took control. Holding the Bucs to just 13 second-half points, the Warriors glided to a 60-45 victory.

"In the first half, we were trying to jump passes and steal the ball and we ended up giving (Berkeley) lanes to the basket," said Calvary coach Keb Burley. "We put a little more pressure on the ball, rotated and closed out better in the second half."

Running a 10-man rotation helped the Warriors (9-2) preserve their energy. Senior Danny Neugebauer was a buzzsaw in the third quarter, pulling down six of his 11 rebounds to keep Berkeley to one shot per possession.

And in the fourth, Eddie Williams effectively prowled the baseline for eight of his 19 points and five of his eight rebounds.

Tournament MVP Paxton Wilson shined with a game-high 21-point effort.

"When (Berkeley) went to a zone (in the second half), we decided to work the middle and kick down to our bigs," Williams said. "Once we worked the middle, we got the ball where we wanted."

Meanwhile, the Bucs (8-3) got more short-handed as Mathis (11 points) drew his second technical foul 22 seconds into the second half. Davis Koetter battled, scoring seven of his nine points in the final 16 minutes, but a thin roster and low free throw numbers (15 of 25) did in Berkeley.

"I'm really proud of our team for climbing out of a 12-0 hole," said Bucs coach Bobby Reinhart. "Zach Mathis changed the complexion of the game but Calvary is a good team. We just didn't get it done, we'll learn from this and we'll grow."