By Kennedy Rosendahl
During the break, the Ponte Vedra boys basketball team won their Christmas tournament, going 3-0. After the break, they got off to a good start. Last week, the Sharks beat both Atlantic Coast High School and Bishop Kenny High School by a large sum of points. They handled both teams and won with ease.
On Tuesday, Jan 4, the Sharks beat the ACHS Stingrays 52-29 in an away game. Leading all scorers was junior, Nathan Bunkosky with 14, followed by senior, JT Kelly with 12, and senior, Ross Candelino with ten. The Sharks controlled the entire game and outscored the Stingrays in every quarter. The Sharks went 31 percent from the three-point line and 46 percent from the two-point field goal range. They also had outstanding defense with a total of 15 steals and four blocks, three of which from junior, Israel Nuhu. This was an easy game for the Sharks.
On Friday, Jan 7, the Sharks beat the BKHS Crusaders 61-31 at home. This was an anticipated game since Candelino had transferred from BKHS last year. There was lots of energy in the gym, the student sections on both sides of the gym showed up in force. Luckily, so did Candelino. He dropped 23 points on his former team, leading the scoring for Ponte Vedra. Following behind him was Ben Ritchie, who went 100 percent from the three-point line, one of those three-pointers ending in a four-point play. He finished with ten points. From the very start of the game, the Sharks controlled the court, outscoring the Crusaders in every quarter. The Sharks were 36 percent from the three-point line overall, improving from their previous game that week. BKHS also couldn’t handle the Sharks’ defense; they had 12 steals and three blocks, with over 30 rebounds. Nuhu sealed the win by throwing down a dunk in the fourth quarter. This was a big game for Candelino, since he was playing against his old school. “It was a must win for me. It was almost like a revenge game,” said Candelino. He handled the pressure well and was completely respectful to his old school. He stated, “Don’t get me wrong, BK is a great school. But I don’t go there anymore, so I needed to help my team get this win.”
The two wins last week brought the Sharks’ record to 13-2. This is very impressive and gives them an advantage as the season nears its end. They are currently first in the 6A district. If the Sharks continue to play like they have been, they will be a hard team to beat.
