Wiregrass Ranch outpaces Milton in 6A-1 region quarterfinal
WESLEY CHAPEL, FLORIDA – From his days as an assistant coach under Gary Anders at the now defunct Ridgewood High School, Jeremy Calzone has always liked his teams playing fast.
As the only coach Wiregrass Ranch has ever known, Calzone has developed his teams to always be out on the run and looking to push tempo every possession.
On Thursday night, though the Bulls didn’t start off hot, a big third quarter showed what kind of club they can be in any given period. Wiregrass Ranch out-scored visiting Milton 24-13 in the third quarter, en route to a 79-66 win in a Class 6A, Region 1 quarterfinal.
“I don’t think we played fast enough,” Calzone said. “We knew (Milton) was going to come out with a lot of energy. They came from six and a half hours of driving. They weren’t going to lay down. They’ve got some good players.”
From the early outset, it was Milton (20-7) setting the tone with its up and down tempo, led by junior guard Treymar Jones. The Panthers jumped out to a 27-17 lead at one point, looking to take the home crowd out of the game.
Fast and furiously, however, the Bulls got right back into the game behind the play of guards Preston Linville (20 points, six rebounds, five assists) and KJ Smith (16 points, six rebounds, nine assists). A Linville 3-pointer brought Wiregrass Ranch to within 27-26 and it would eventually take a brief lead.
The game would enter intermission tied up at 37-all and it seemed as if whichever team came out of halftime with the hot hand would take control. That turned out to be Wiregrass Ranch.
Calzones' squad opened up the period with a Linville layup to go up 39-37 and continued building the lead from there. The period would finish on a Smith fadeaway at the buzzer to build a 61-50 advantage.
Traveling from well over six hours away, the Panthers seared down in the third quarter, but continued to plug away in the final period. The closest the Panthers would come was eight points, but they could never get a stop when they needed it.
Jones finished the game scoring a team-high 25 points on the night for Milton.
Jordan Roque scored 18 points and added five assists, five rebounds, while Donavan Gaines chipped in with 15 points and seven boards.
Playing as the No. 1 seed in the region, Wiregrass Ranch could see themselves hosting a potential region final with a chance to reach states. Taking care of business next week against Buchholz, a team they defeated in the regular season, 66-56, is the next test for Calzone’s bunch.
“That was the motivation all year,” Calzone added. “I said if you guys want this, you’ve got to win out. They wanted it and now we’re excited about it.”
(Photo credit: Maroon Media)
-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl
