Ponte Vedra sharpshooter scorches Wekiva
LAKELAND — Underdog Ponte Vedra put on a shooting clinic, making 11 of 20 3-point shot attempts, and routed third-ranked Wekiva 63-41 in a Class 6A boys basketball state semifinal game at RP Funding Center on Thursday night.
Sharks junior Sam Ritchie, a 6-foot-1 guard, made all eight of his shots from behind the arc and totaled 34 points — the high mark in this year’s FHSAA championships event.
His shooting, combined with missed shots and miscues by Wekiva (26-5) spoiled the party for a team that set a school record for victories and won its region for the second time.
“We knew they shot the ball well,” Mustangs coach Gersino Lubin said afterward. “We know what they do. They just outworked us as far as moving the ball and sprinting to their spots.
“They played to our deficiencies. We tend to ball watch. Once you’re relaxing on the ball swing they get a good look and they make shots.”
No. 6 Ponte Vedra (23-6), led by former Windermere Prep coach Ben Wilson, will play No. 1 Palm
Beach Gardens Dwyer (28-1) in Saturday’s 5:30 p.m. championship game. Dwyer had 12 steals in its 52-39 win against Tampa Wharton (24-7) in the opening 6A semifinal.
Ponte Vedra, like Wekiva, lost its district final but has won 12 of its past 13 games.
“Getting to the state final last year and coming up short by four points [in a 53-49 loss to Martin County], that was motivation for these guys all summer,” said Wilson, who left coaching in 2018 but got back into the game as a Ponte Vedra assistant before taking over as head coach this season when Kevin Whirity was unable to continue due to his full-time job.
“This team is locked in,” said Wilson, who coached Windermere Prep’s 2016 Class 3A state title team. “They know they’ve got one more game to play. At this point, I’m following their lead.”
Sam Ritchie and his brother, Ben, are Wilson’s nephews.
Aside from 3s, every Ponte Vedra point came off shots taken at pointblank range (8 field goals and 2 free throws). The Sharks made 60% of their field goal attempts (15 of 25) in the first half and were at 57% on 3s (8 of 14). They finished 25 of 45 overall shooting (55.6%), including 11 of 20 from deep (55%).
Wekiva broke the school record for wins previously owned by the 25-5 team of 2016-17. But on Thursday the Mustangs never found their rhythm.
Stellar senior Malachi Hampton finished his Mustangs career with a team-high 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks. Abiah Charles had 7 points, 2 assists and 4 steals in the loss.
Wekiva won the opening tip and sophomore Darius Livingston started the scoring with a jump shot. But the Mustangs failed to score on their next six possessions, with three missed shots and three turnovers and found themselves down 10-2 right away.
A 3 to close the opening quarter by Ritchie made it 22-11.
The Sharks finished the second quarter on a 14-2 run, completing that flurry with a backdoor layup by Ritchie for a 39-20 halftime advantage. Nine of those points came on 3s.
Things only got worse for Wekiva after the break. They were outscored 16-5 in the third quarter, falling behind 55-25.