By Evan Long
On Jan. 23, the Ponte Vedra High School (PVHS) Sharks stayed home to face the tough, 18-3 Providence School Stallions. The Sharks started the game cold, being outscored 6-22 in the first quarter. This trend continued in the second quarter, being outscored 12-19. Going into the half, the sharks were down 20-41, their biggest deficit at half all season. PVHS started to pick it up, leading 14-11 in the third quarter and 18-16 in the fourth quarter but ultimately was outmatched all games losing 50-68, snapping the 6-game win streak. Senior, Ryan Speace played his best game of the season dropping 21 points shooting 8-13 from the field. Despite the humbling loss, the Sharks still possess an impressive 13-6 record and look for a big bounce back win on the road against a weak 4-14 Pedro Menendez High School team on Jan. 22.
“After the big win, we felt confident and we proved that we could get a tough win in front of a tough crowd. Moving forward, we feel that we can go to any place and come out with a win.”
Noah Simmons (12)
On Jan. 22, PVHS faced off at Pedro Menendez High School to take on the Falcons. Even though PVHS had a sizeable number of injuries, the Sharks had the best start to a game, they have had all season outscoring the Falcons by an absurd 19-2 in the first quarter. Even though the Sharks cooled off scoring only 5 in the second quarter, they still possessed a 24-12 lead going into the half. Despite Pedro Menendez outscoring PVHS in both the third and fourth quarters, the Sharks still pulled out with the win 45-40. Sophomore, Tyler Kroog led the team with 19 points, with 12 of them coming from the three-point line, making 4 threes. Junior, Chase Cowan was a key contributor in the win with his 9 rebounds and his 3 assists. The Sharks look for a big rematch win against their rival, Nease High School, at Nease on Jan. 23.
On Jan. 23, PVHS took on their rivals, the 16-4 Nease High School Panthers, on the road. The first time these two played, the Sharks lost in a heartbreaker 66-69 at home. The Sharks, who have been 7-1 in their last 8 games, look to get their revenge against the Panthers. The Sharks started the first quarter down 8-14. Despite the deficit, PVHS bounced back outscoring Nease 14-9 in the second quarter, resulting in a close, 22-23 score going into the half. The Sharks, looking for a big second half, ended the third quarter outscoring the Panthers 14-10 and did not turn back outscoring Nease again in the fourth 17-13, giving the Sharks a huge 53-46 win on the road. PVHS improves to a 15-6 record after the win with the help of an awakening of the team in the second half of the season. Jacksonville University senior commit, Maddox Palmer led the way with 17 points and 2 crucial blocks. Ryan Speace also had a game putting up 15 points and two steals. After the game, senior, Noah Simmons stated, “After the big win, we felt confident and we proved that we could get a tough win in front of a tough crowd. Moving forward, we feel that we can go to any place and come out with a win.” The Sharks will travel to Impact Christan Academy on Jan. 27 to face the Lions.
Pictured: Jordan Bryant (12) getting ready to serve the basketball (@fenneysflics).
