Windermere Prep succeeds with tall tandem
Having one talented big man in high school basketball is a huge plus.
Having two bigs can make a squad special. Windermere Prep, coming off a down year, has a duo that gives the Lakers a much higher ceiling with 6-foot-11 junior Elijah Hulsewe now playing alongside slick sophomore Fanbo Zeng, a 6-9 forward from China.
Hulsewe, a transfer from Orangewood Christian, made a his presence in the post felt with 15 points and 7 rebounds in a 76-62 win over University High School of Orlando on Friday as part of the Metro vs. Florida Challenge at Apopka.
And his presence helped open the floor up for Zeng, who finished with 23 points and 9 boards after a sluggish start.
He scored 22 of his 23 points in the second half and the Lakers (2-0) held on after seeing a 16-point halftime lead trimmed to 40-37 in the first five minutes of the third quarter.
Hulsewe’s arrival frees Zeng to better utilize the perimeter play and ball skills that make him a high-major college prospect.
“We want to play insideout, and Elijah is a physical big,” said second-year Windermere Prep coach Brian Hoff. “Every [college] coach that comes into our gym to see Fanbo asks about Elijah. He doesn’t have any [scholarship] offers now, but that’s going to change.”
The Lakers, state champs in 2015-16, slipped to 10-17 last season but are now a team that should make noise in Class 3A.
MDC wins in OT: Mount Dora Christian, ranked No. 7 in 2A, trailed most of the way but got strong play by guards Jace Spinelli and Rodney Bryant when it mattered most and scored a 75-69 overtime victory against Freedom.
Spinelli, a senior, forced OT when he dribbled through pressure and scored to tie the score at 60-60 late in regulation. He finished with a game-high 23 points for a team that returned eight varsity players from a 22-6 year and called up three from last season’s JV.
Bryant, a 6-foot junior, scored 19 had had 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Edwin Chatman, a 6-3 senior, added 15 points as the Bulldogs overcame a spirited effort by Freedom.
The Patriots got a doubledouble from 6-4 senior Jagger Fremstad (18 points, 10 rebounds).
“That was a good team we beat,” said Bulldogs coach Steven Hayes. “You can’t look at their record from last year (5-21), you’ve got to look at who they played. That Metro [Conference] is really, really good basketball.”
Hayes noted that MDC’s record in the Challenge was 1-4 before it pulled out Friday’s win.
Bears and Bloodhounds: Cypress Creek opened its season with a 78-39 rout of Winter Springs. Marquise
Parker had 13 points to lead four double figure scorers for the Bears. Brandon Rivas, a 6-1 senior playing small forward, grabbed 12 rebounds to go with his 11 points.
Auburndale got a key goahead fast break basket from Dorian Allen with 1:10 to go and the Bloodhounds (1-1) won 66-63 against West Orange. Jalen DeBose, a ninth grader, had 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting and Mike McCalister, a 6-4 junior, had 14 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocked shots for the Warriors in the loss.
The MVFC event concludes Saturday with eight games.