SEMINOLE—The Seminole Warhawks battled against the Palm Harbor University Hurricanes hoping to continue their winning streak.
The Warhawks would breeze past the ‘canes with ease, 71-50 and in-so-doing, hold on to their first place spot in 7A District 10.
For Head Coach Josh Walker, he was ready to get his team back to business especially after a short break for the holidays.
“I was really glad the way the kids responded with this game,” said Walker. “With the past week being Thanksgiving, things could have gotten a little wild but they came into this game ready to get the job done and that’s all I could ask for from them. They had only one day off during the break and they were in the gym working hard as always and tonight showed it.”
Although taking a tough 51-56 loss against St. Pete High School early in the season, they later came out on top with a 74-59 win over the Boca Ciega Pirates on Nov. 26.
Tuesday night’s matchup was never in doubt as the Warhawks would dominate the first period thanks to forwards Tanner Cowan, Lorenzo Gulley and guard Henry Beard. They would hold off the Hurricanes to keep a 38-24 advantage just before the half.
According to Seminole guard TJ Frounfelter, who would score six 3-point shots in the game, they had to change a few things going into the second half even though they had the lead.
“Our defense wasn’t hard when we came onto the court in the first but we were definitely hitting our three’s when it mattered the most, which to me was good,” said Frounfelter. “Second half we came out and just kept them down.”
At the start of the third period, both teams battled it out. The Hurricanes would get a sliver of hope after a technical foul to Seminole gave Pigozzo four free throws.
But it was not enough to hold off the Warhawks in the third and fourth period as Seminole would claim their third win at home.
Lead scorers for the Warhawks would be Frounfelter with 28 points along with Cowan and Gulley with 13. For PHU, Joe Pigozzo would bring 20 points to the game along with Joe Walker’s 10 points.
“One of the things we have been working a lot this season and we struggled a little bit in this game was transition defense,” said Walker. “Our guys definitely showed what the team is made of though in the end. TJ (Frounfelter) did a good job running the floor and our guards did a good job keeping in rhythm with him and setting screens and getting him open to get those big shots. Tanner and Lorenzo definitely stepped up tonight.”
The Warhawks (3-1) next game is against Pinellas Park on Friday Dec. 6 and the Hurricane’s (3-2) next game is against Pasco High School on Jan. 1.