Visiting Harmony used a 12-2 run to start the third quarter and then held on for 57-47 win over host Gateway on Friday night.
The Panthers, who were playing their first games in their beautiful new gymnasium, managed a split on the day as the Lady Panthers defeated Freedom, 46-20, in an in-school matinee game.
Harmony, 11-2 and winners of six straight, came out pressing and forced 15 first-half Gateway turnovers. The Longhorns built a 13-8 lead after one period.
“Whenever you play Gateway you know you are going to face two things -- a well-coached team and a physical battle,” Harmony coach Duke Leonardo said. “And that’s certainly what we got tonight. Coach James always has his team playing hard and we knew it was going to be extra tough tonight as they were opening their new building.”
Neither team shot the ball particularly well in the first half and a late run by the Panthers resulted in a 21-21 game at halftime. The Longhorns opened the third period with a 12-2 run to build a double digit lead, 33-23, and eventually would extend the lead to 14 at the end of three. They were aided by a huge disparity at the free throw line. Each team managed just 12 field goals in the first three stanzas, but Harmony made 18-of-25 free throws through three quarters; while Gateway only had four total attempts.
“For as physical of a game that it was on both ends, I thought the number of calls we were getting were a bit uneven,” Panthers coach Travis James said. “But the referees are going to call what they are going to call and you have to be able to overcome things like that.”
Gateway (5-7) caught fire in the fourth period. Forcing several turnovers of their own, the Panthers cut the deficit to five on three different occasions. Kyle McGregor scored 11 of his game-high 19 points in the period to lead the charge.
The Longhorns interior defense also played a huge part in the win, as they recorded more than 10 blocks in the game. “That was a bit surprising because that’s not a huge part of our game,” Leonardo said. “But our guys underneath gave great effort tonight and that played a big part in the win.”
Harmony was led by Vlad Torrado’s 16 points. Noah Tribe added 10, but it was the Longhorns’ balance that made the difference as six different players contributed six or more points. Yangel Malpica added eight for the Panthers and Isaiah McGill had seven.
In picking up the 11th win of the season, Leonardo said he was pleased with his team’s play in the first half of the season.
“Although we lost some talented seniors last year, our goals remained the same – win 20 games, take the Orange Belt Conference title and win districts,” Leonardo said. “Games like tonight can only help us because I think it makes us understand we need to play hard and fight in every game because our talent alone is not going to be enough to win.”
Gateway, which lost its third straight, made more field goals than their opponent (21-15) but committed 28 turnovers.
“That was probably the most disappointing part. We have good quick guards and pressure normally doesn’t bother us,” James said. “We didn’t take care of the ball tonight.”
With the win, Harmony moves to 5-0 this year against county opposition. They play two road games next week – facing St. Cloud on Tuesday night and Melbourne on Thursday. Gateway has a short turnaround, playing Faith Christian Saturday before playing county rivals Tohopekaliga Wednesday and Osceola Friday on the road.
In the early game, breaking the seal on the new gym, the Lady Panthers rolled to an easy 26-point win over Freedom. Still missing their top player Malayna Stevenson (ankle injury), Gateway jumped out a 13-0 lead and never looked back in pushing their season record to 9-3.
Sophomore point guard Alyssa Marino led the way with 18 points, while Karyna Rivera and Evana Rivera scored nine and eight points respectively. The win shook off the effect of a 71-49 loss to Bishop Moore, who beat the Panthers in the 2022 regional championship game, on Wednesday – the final game in Gateway’s “old” gym, which stood since 1985 when the school opened.
“We came out and took care of business,” Panthers Coach Justin Marino noted. “Hopefully we’ll get Malayna back in time for the end of the regular season and playoffs.”
The Lady Panthers play Cocoa Tuesday and at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy Friday as they prepare for the Orange Belt Conference Tournament Jan. 16-19.
