Niceville boys hoops knocked out in finals

By ALDEN GONZALEZ

Special to the Daily News

After 36 minutes of one of the biggest roller-coaster rides in his life, Tony Wise was embraced by Chad July in the middle of a Gainesville High floor overflowing in purple.

And with the Region 1-5A trophy in hand, the sweaty 6-foot-9 senior repeatedly told the tearful Wise, “This is for you coach. This is for you.”

Six years ago, when Wise came to Gainesville fresh off a final four appearance with Santa Fe, that was the goal. And after seeing a 19-point first-half lead evaporate down the stretch, that goal was realized with a 75-71 win over Niceville in the Region 1-5A finals on Saturday night.

Kody Williams had 18 points for Niceville, which finished the season 25-6.

“We had opportunities and couldn’t take advantage, but I can’t complain,” said Niceville coach Jerome Strutchen, lauding the Eagles for their perseverance.

The Hurricanes (22-8) will now play Dillard (27-2) in the state semifinals at The Lakeland Center on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

“It couldn't have worked out more perfect,” Wise said. “This was a very emotional day, and with all the trials and tribulations we went through as a team, getting this win was amazing.”

In what was Wise's final time coaching in Gainesville, the Hurricanes saw their best turnout since their last regional final appearance — a loss to Pensacola in 2004 — as 600 fans crowded the gym and about 50 others were rejected at the door.

The Hurricanes were led in scoring by junior Greg Gantt's game-high 23 points and got a team-high 15 rebounds from junior Gabe Rutledge. Junior point guard Taylor Simmons, who hit the buzzer beater to get Gainesville to the regional finals, had a team-high seven assists with just one turnover.

Niceville (25-6) started five guards and didn't have anybody over 6-foot-5, but they kept it close by committing 12 less turnovers and hitting four more 3-pointers than Gainesville.

The Hurricanes took an early lead and never trailed throughout the game. They started off with an 11-4 lead with the Eagles missing nine of their first 11 shots and stretched it to 34-15 with 1:30 left before halftime.

But the Eagles never got discouraged.

“We never got down,” Strutchen said. “We always know we have an opportunity to come back, and none of our guys were devastated.”

That showed in the third quarter when the Eagles got 10 points from Williams and attempted 11 more free throws to outscore the Hurricanes, 24-16.

With Niceville chipping away at the lead and cutting it to two with 1:21 left, the Eagles started fouling Gainesville every time they inbounded the ball. The Hurricanes only made 13 of their 25 free throws, but they hit them when they counted most.

Gantt knocked down two to make it a two-possession game with 27 seconds left, and Matt Huber made 1 of 2 at the line to seal it with 2.5 seconds remaining.

Niceville 9 8 24 30 —71

Gainesville 19 15 16 25 —75

NICEVILLE(71)

kody Williams 19, Ty Fridlund 15, Tory Kirkwood 13, Billy Billings 12, Strutchen 4, Jordan 2, Tinker 2, Brooks 2, Beals 2. TOTALS: 24 13-23 71

GAINESVILLE (75)

Greg Gantt 25, Anthony Nwadigo 16, Chad July 13, Huber 6, Simmons 8, Gainey 5, Hall 2. TOTALS: 27 16-31 75.