St. Ed’s varsity boys basketball team stumbled a bit out of the gate before regrouping to salvage a very respectable 13-11 regular-season record heading into the District 11-3A playoffs this week.
After dropping seven of ten games through mid-December, head coach Greg Zugrave’s squad fell into a nice groove by winning seven of the next eight and 10 of the final 14. The competition was formidable throughout in a schedule loaded with state-ranked teams and several large public schools.
To further solidify the notion that this was indeed a tale of two seasons, vying for the district title gives the Pirates a second crack at a tournament championship trophy this season.
On Jan. 16 in Orlando the Pirates claimed the championship of the Sunshine State Athletic Conference with a 61-52 victory over a Deltona-Trinity Christian Academy team that was at the time ranked No. 6 statewide in Class 2A.
“This year we continued with FHSAA district play but we joined a conference as well,” Zugrave explained. “We captured the SSAC southern division and then we were able to beat two teams in the championship bracket. It was like having a little tournament exposure before another tournament.”
Zugrave made the analogy to winning the Big Ten or ACC tournament before entering the Big Dance. “We knew we had to win two or three games in a row to compete for a district title. We felt this was a great precursor against some really good teams to prepare us for what was coming down the road in February.”
What arrived this week was a surprisingly difficult challenge in a reshuffled district. Past nemeses like Florida Air, Melbourne Central Catholic and Holy Trinity Episcopal have been replaced by the likes of Somerset Canyons, FAU High School and Yeshiva. The Pirates lost to those new district opponents and settled for a middle-of-the-pack 3-3 record and the No. 4 seed in the tournament.
This Pirate team was never going to run up and down the floor to outscore other teams. The midseason turnaround was a result of something that a team can always rely on – hard work on defense.
“When you don’t score at a high rate, you have to figure out a way to win,” Zugrave said. “For us it has been with our defense. We have used combinations of zone and man-to-man depending on how we match up. That created some opportunities for us to frustrate some teams and stay in games against some better teams.
“I definitely think that has been the key to our success. We held some teams to their lowest point totals of the year, and that has led to some victories. We’ve come a long way and accomplished many of the goals that we set forth at the beginning of the year. We won our (SSAC) conference championship and I think we are gelling nicely as a team.”
Senior Nick Succes developed into a very reliable scorer, and one that the team desperately needed. He was at his most dynamic at the conclusion of the regular season. Over the final four games, Succes averaged 24 points a game and put up a career high 35 vs. his former school Centennial. The Pirates appeared to be finishing with a kick by winning three straight before a rough 58-21 loss to Melbourne Central Catholic in the finale. Succes managed to get 11 of the season-low 21 points.
“Nick has filled a big void for us,” Zugrave said. “There was no mystery about the fact that we struggled to score the basketball. Nick made our team much more difficult to defend and play against because of his ability to score. He was the MVP at the SSAC tournament. He was able to score around the rim and he made some clutch foul shots. He was just outstanding.
“Some other guys have stepped up as well. Thomas Bockhorst has been putting the ball in the basket and Cole Lipkin has come through with some points. Willie Mosley knows how to shoot the ball as well. We need production from those guys in order for us to win. It can’t always just be Nick doing the scoring.
The Pirates opened the district playoffs on Tuesday vs. No. 5 seed Jupiter Christian. To get that extraordinary second tournament championship in one season, Succes and his fellow cast members on offense will have to provide enough punch to augment a very stingy defense