PACE, FLA- Following a highly disappointing 2021-2022 season, Pace High School’s basketball program ( 7-18, 2-7 6A District One) is striving to enjoy a bounceback season. In spite of losing 2021-2022 high school graduates Brent Cadenhead, Alexandru Enciu, and Connor Ferguson, Head Coach Houston Ramsay has received reinforcements in preparation against a stacked 6A District One Conference. With this said, Pace High School’s 2022-2023 season was officially underway on November 16th and 17th, as the Patriots hosted Gulf Breeze High School (21-7, 4-2 6A District One) and Catholic High School (9-17, 0-0 3A District One) in the annual Tip-Off Tournament.
In their first game of the Tip-Off Tournament, Pace High School matched up with Gulf Breeze High School, who won the 2022 6A District 1 Playoff Tournament. As expected, the Dolphins were no match for the Patriots, who cruised to a comfortable 70-49 win. Led by Senior Guard Max Schneidt and Senior Forwards Trevor Dupont and Colin Slatton, Gulf Breeze used a 27-point second quarter to jump out to a 37-24 lead at halftime, where they would outscore Pace 33-27 for the remainder of the game.
In his first start of the season, Schneidt didn’t disappoint, recording eleven points, four rebounds, one steal, and one block versus Pace. Similar to Schneidt, Dupont also had double-digit points, finishing with twelve points, two steals, and one block, while Slatton added seven points, including a thunderous dunk off a steal midway through the third quarter.
In spite of the 21-point loss to Gulf Breeze, Pace received solid contributions from their players. To begin, Senior Guard Chance Donohoe recorded a game-high 17 points on 6-12 (50.0)% shooting from the field and 3-7 (42.9%) from three-point range. Outside of Donohoe, no other Patriot notched double-digit points, and Senior Forward Nathan Wright’s seven points were the closest to Donohoe’s 17 points. Likewise, Junior Guard Jordynn D’amico (5/2/2), Junior Guard Javon Purvis (5/0/1), and Sophomore Guard Ben Tyner (5/3/0) also had noticeable impacts in the game.
As a team, the Dolphins shot 28-50 (56.0%) from the field, 7-22 (31.8%) from three-point range, and 7-12 (58.3%) from the free-throw line. For comparison, the Patriots shot 17-43 (39.5%) from the field, 8-21 (38.1%) from three-point range, and 7-11 (63.6) from the free-throw line. It’s worth noting that Pace did struggle with personal fouls and turnovers, as the Patriots committed 14 personal fouls and 25 turnovers as a team. Gulf Breeze wasn’t much better than Pace, committing 17 personal fouls and 11 turnovers.
Following their aforementioned loss to Gulf Breeze on November 16th, Pace looked to rebound against Catholic High School the next day. Courtesy of great play by Senior Guards Donohoe and Hazelwood, the Patriots secured a solid 46-35 victory versus the Crusaders. After notching just two points and three turnovers in 22 minutes against Gulf Breeze, Hazelwood recorded a game-high twelve points, four rebounds, and three steals while shooting 6-9 (66.7%) from the field. Moreover, Donohoe scored ten points in 21 minutes, while Tyner added eleven points and two assists in just nine minutes of action.
In spite of the win over Catholic, Pace wasn’t very efficient, going just 20-55 (36.4%) from the field, 3-18 (16.7%) from three-point range, and 3-6 (50.0%) from the free-throw line. Likewise, Pace committed 16 personal fouls and 13 turnovers, playing undisciplined basketball. Admittedly, Catholic had similar struggles to Pace, going 12-31 (38.7%) from the field, 2-8 (25.0%) from three-point range, and 9-16 (56.2%) from the free-throw line, while committing eleven personal fouls and twelve turnovers. After claiming a 20-17 lead entering halftime, Pace scored 26 of the game’s final 40 points to secure the victory. With this said, Pace will now travel to Pensacola to face Pine Forest on November 21st.