(SPRING HILL)- The last time Springstead’s boys basketball team won a district championship, they were in the Class 4A state championship game against Cocoa.
That was the 2008-2009 campaign, in which the Eagles went 31-1 and pulled off one of the most memorable seasons in Hernando County history. This time around, nearly a decade later, Springstead has finally gotten back to the postseason under coach Matt McGarry and the Eagles will start off the Class 7A playoffs versus Tampa King. After defeating Land O’ Lakes 68-67 for the Class 7A, District 8 title, confidence is at an all time high.
“Confidence is pretty high right now,” McGarry said about his group. “We’ve battled a lot of adversity all year. We always thought we were a capable team throughout the season. Home court advantage is huge. We talked about that heading into districts and we knew things would run through Springstead.”
Springstead (18-8) will now face a tough Tampa King team that went 13-11 during the regular season and has faced stiff competition all throughout the 2017-2018 campaign. The Lions have four players currently averaging over eight points per game, with junior guard Chris Romkey leading the way at 10.3 points a contest. McGarry’s group will need to keep King’s backcourt in check if they look to move onto next week’s region semifinals.
“Anytime you go to Hillsborough County and play them, it’s gonna be a tough contest for us,” McGarry said about Tampa King. “They’ve got a good team. They wouldn’t be at this level if they weren’t a good team. I feel like we can beat anyone. We were able to win the two district games without our top guy Zack Meyer not really getting going. I feel like Jeffery (Cotnoir) has been making plays at all facets. I feel like our bench has really stepped up a lot. They gave us some strong minutes off the bench and do well.”
The Eagles will be more reliant upon the play of three players to keep them going offensively, with Meyer, Cotnoir and Sincere Torain all being the go-to scorers for the club. Meyer has been exceptional on both ends of the court, as the senior is averaging 14.2 points per game and is collecting nearly six rebounds a contest. Cotnoir has been the team’s leader in steals, notching three per game and Torain leads the team in scoring at 14.6 and averages 2.9 steals a night.
All three players will be depended on to keep Springstead’s playoff run alive Thursday night Feb. 22, as a trip to the Lakeland Center a decade after the last time Eagles made a trip would be a dream come true.
“Right now, we’ve got some stellar teams,” McGarry said about Hernando County basketball. “Hopefully we can keep Hernando County on the map. We have goals that we try to hit every night. As long as we keep playing Springstead basketball, we can win on any night. As long as we are working hard, we can make some noise.”