Observations: Coral Springs @ Stranahan
I believe one indicator of a good team is how well you play when you are not at your best. The Stranahan Mighty Dragons seemed to fit that key Monday night when they defeated the Coral Springs Colts 61-34. On paper, it was a 27-point victory for the defending Class 6A state champions. From a viewing perspective, the Colts made the Mighty Dragons sweat a bit in the first half. Both teams struggled shooting in the first quarter for a 6-6 tie. The second proved to be much of the same with the Mighty Dragons not opening up much of a lead until mid-way through the quarter. At the break, the 27-win Mighty Dragons from a year ago held a six-point edge on a team with a lone victory this season. Give the Colts credit, it was a solid half led by senior (2020) guard Arte Rashford, who finished with a team high 13 points. Coral Springs was able to take advantage of some turnovers to hang around and converted baskets when they needed to around the rim. The Colts also got the lone three of the half from Rashford, as both teams struggled to score from the outside.
Second half turns for Stranahan
Despite a turnover on the first possession, the Mighty Dragons started to flex its muscle with a 15 – 2 run to go up 38-19 with 2:39 remaining in the third quarter. Junior shooting guard/small forward Mario Bynes was one of the catalysts on the run with seven points in the quarter including the Mighty Dragons lone 3-pointer. When it looked like the Dragons were going to run away with it, the Colts hung around scoring nine of the final eleven points in the quarter. Stranahan took a twelve point lead at the end of three. Again, give Coral Springs credit for hanging around, the Colts ended up finishing with eight different players in the box-score and can build off how they played for the better half of 24 minutes.
Inady Legiste finishes strong for the Mighty Dragons
I did not see a whole lot of Legiste on the floor in the third quarter, but the Stranhan forward played some big minutes in the final frame. The six-foot-seven (2020) Legiste finished with 13 points and started to assert himself on the low block. Legiste can post up with his size in the paint and turn-around to hit shots off the glass. If he gets around the basket, Legiste can launch his way up the rim for an easy bucket. He is simply too big or strong when he gets that far in the paint. What was equally as impressive was his ability to knock down shots from the free-throw line. The senior hit six free-throws on the night for Stranahan. That being said, on the off-chance he does not convert, Legiste can add the weapon of free-throw shooting to his repertoire to stymie opponents.
Houston Culpepper, MVP
The best player on the floor for the night was Culpepper, who is a six-foot-three (2022) forward. Houston finished with a game-high 18 points and ten rebounds in the victory. Early on, Culpepper was active on glass, collecting many of his early rebounds on the offensive end. With Stranahan struggling a bit early on, I thought Culpepper’s play was key to keeping the Dragons out in front of the pesky Colts. The sophomore has good size and has a high motor, evident when he collected an offensive rebound off his own missed free throw for a put back bucket. The younger brother of senior Chayse Culepper, Houston scored on a nice driving feed from his older brother for a basket in the second half. The sophomore also showed good hands on defense with a couple of steals, one of which he was able to convert on the other end for a layup.
Overview
As I stated, Coral Springs should be given a lot of credit for hanging around as long as they did and I don’t think the score is indicative of how they played for much of the game. The problem is the Colts were playing a team that could beat you in so many different ways. If it is not Culpepper (either brother) leading the team one night, it is (2020) Daquion Vickers, (2020) Dave Herard, Bynes, Legiste or someone else for Stranahan. The Mighty Dragons took a couple one-possession losses early on in the season but look to finish strong with five games to close out 2019.
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