SPRING HILL- A 55-54 overtime loss to Land O’ Lakes in the Class 7A, District 8 semifinals is what separated Springstead from reaching the state playoffs and the Eagles are focused on nabbing the narrowly missed postseason spot from a year ago.
Springstead is currently 5-2 on the season and is a bit deeper than Eagles coach Matt McGarry thought his club might be, as the team has three players averaging 10.3 points per game or more. Leading the way offensively is junior Sincere Torain, who is averaging 17 points per game on 44 percent shooting. McGarry was surprised at the depth his team has so far this campaign.
“We’re a little bit more deep then I thought we would be,” McGarry said. “We had some unusual suspects show up in recent games. We don’t have that knock down shooter like we had last year. Sincere has been amazing all season and he’s been putting up big numbers. We run an offense that’s really setup for anybody. Same thing with (Zack) Meyer. He has two double doubles on the season so far. He’s doing everything.”
Optimism is everywhere for Springstead in terms of competing for the 7A-8 district title, as the division is more open than ever according to McGarry. Mitchell, whom won the district championship last season, is currently 1-4 on the season. Springstead has the best overall record in the district at 5-2 and the Eagles defeated the Mustangs last week for the first time in McGarry’s head coaching career.
“Right now I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone went 3-3 in the district,” McGarry said. “That was the first time we’ve ever beaten Mitchell in my career. I tell these guys all the time if you can’t get up for district games, I don’t know what you can get up for. Sunlake has been a format team for the longest time and now they’re a competitive team. We’re definitely progressing as a team. Losing Alec Sherman for (Mitchell) was a huge loss.”
The new year will bring upon new and tougher challenges for Springstead, as they’ll be taking part in a couple winter break tournaments, including the Rams Rotary Classic in New Port Richey. Springstead is slated to play Tampa Plant in the first round and the Panthers are currently undefeated on the season. Throw in that the Eagles will face Nature Coast twice to start off 2018, and Springstead is facing a tough schedule to open up the new year.
“I do believe this team can win a district championship,” McGarry added. “I used to tell these guys that I see a 18, 19-win team some nights but other nights I don’t. We’re going to be in a Rotary Ram Classic and we face Plant first game and then we host a tournament in the new year. We have some tests going into the new year. Greatest thing about this group is it’s a never back down group. They’ve always stayed the course. It’s a never die, never let down attitude. Our biggest success this year has been our early starts.”