Five Takeaways: Boca Ciega vs. Canterbury
With 6.9 seconds left, Boca Ciega point guard Dollar Davis found forward Alonzo Carter for the game-winning basket down low to beat the final buzzer.
That is how the Pirates (13-2) defeated Canterbury (12-8) on the road, 57-55 on Tuesday night.
Trailing for much of the game up until midway through the third quarter, Boca Ciega and Canterbury went back and forth. The Pirates outscored the home team 12-6 in the fourth to pull out the non-district victory.
Here are five takeaways from the night.
Dakota Moore is a game changer
The younger brother of former UNF star and current Italian league basketball player Dallas Moore, Dakota Moore is turning into quite the athlete. The 6’0″ junior guard came on in the second quarter with eight points, then scored seven more in the third before adding the first eight points in the fourth quarter. Moore finished with a game-high 25 points for Boca Ciega in an impressive offensive performance. He commanded double teams for much of the night.
Rivers Lenholt doesn’t quit
There is something about Canterbury guard Rivers Lenholt that I love to watch every time I see him play basketball. He makes shots when it matters most, is a high-energy player and seems to position his body well on both ends of the floor. The 6’2″ sophomore guard is the vocal leader for the Crusaders. He netted a team-best 15 points including eight in the second half against a speedy Boca Ciega defense.
Jerroda Briscoe is a high-end defender
A very lengthy senior at 6’6″, Jerroda Briscoe dazzled the crowd with a dunk in transition. He had eight points for Boca Ciega, mostly coming on jumpers. However, his best contributions were on defense were he had block after block. I counted six to be exact. He positioned himself well against the Canterbury attackers and made them play with some mean swats.
Nathan Levi and Deondrick Harper are valuable pieces
Both Nathan Levi and Deondrick Harper had 14 points on the night. Levi, a 6’4″ senior forward was really sound offensively in this one while Harper, a 6’4″ junior transfer from Gibbs was tough on the glass for his side. The forward duo are crucial to the Crusaders success. When they get going, the rest of their teammates find more openings.
Insight on both teams
Canterbury – Lenholt is the bonafide leader of this group, but Levi, Harper, juniors Brendan Riggs and Akeem Glenn and seniors Zion Channer and Will Bond also give the Crusaders very good minutes. This is a team-oriented unit and it is working as Canterbury is 8-1 in Class 3A-District 4 and in first place.
Boca Ciega – The Pirates have their main offensive weapon Moore doing his thing nightly while seniors Carter, Briscoe, Dollar Davis and AJ Boyd manage their own. If everyone can step up earlier in games around Moore it would give Boca Ciega bigger leads to work with. The Pirates are 6-2 in Class 7A-District 9, sitting in first place.