Panthers stuff Tigers

LECANTO — After a sluggish start on senior night, it was a pair of juniors that propelled the Lecanto boys basketball team to an easy victory, defeating visiting Dunnellon 56-34 on Friday night.

Richie Rizzolo led the way with 16 points, while Mikey Makros (14 points) shot 4-of-8 from three-point range, connecting at key moments to extend the Lecanto lead.

Five of Lecanto’s seven seniors were on the floor to start the game, but Dunnellon quickly crashed the party with an early run to take a 9-4 lead, on the strength of a surprising full court press that forced Panthers head coach Eddie Buckley to call a timeout.

From that point on, the better team dominated.

Lecanto (19-6 overall) bounced back for a 12-12 tie to close the opening quarter, and Rizzolo singlehandedly outscored the Tigers 7-2 to start the second, giving the Panthers a lead they would never relinquish.

“I don’t think we were really prepared for them to come out and press,” Buckley said. “I think a lot of it was maybe emotionally — senior night, that could’ve played a part.”

After Rizzolo kick-started the offense in the second quarter with a three-pointer from the wing on a feed from senior Skylar Summers to give the Panthers a 19-14 edge, Summers set the tone for the rest of the game.

On Dunnellon’s next possession, Summers read a pass to the backcourt, stepping in above the three-point line for a steal and clear path to the basket the other way. His emphatic one-handed slam raised the crowd and gave Lecanto an energy that would carry on into the second half. Summers finished with six points and five assists.

Lecanto’s balanced attack easily handled the Tigers (7-19 overall) in the second half, as the Panthers had five different scorers in each of the last two quarters.

Dunnellon briefly closed the gap, starting the third with a 5-0 run, before Lecanto answered with seven straight points of their own for a 31-21 lead, capped off by a no-look pass from Summers to Robert Vega underneath the basket.

After the Tigers’ Jurrell White (11 points, six rebounds) scored on a tough turnaround jumper in the lane, Makros hit a three from the wing, followed by a pair of free throws by senior Winsor Sineus to end the third quarter at 36-23 in favor of the Panthers.

Inside scores by Vega and senior Clayton Roessler early in the fourth helped Lecanto open it up and an NBA-range three from Makros iced the cake for a 49-30 lead with less than three minutes remaining.

“(Makros and Rizzolo are) two of our better three-point shooters,” Buckley said. “And Mikey hit a game-winner last night, so he’s got a little bit of confidence going right now.”

Still, on this night, Buckley needed to acknowledge his leaders.

“I was proud of all the seniors, they all went out on a high, a great win, and I can’t say how much they’ve meant to this program,” Buckley said. “They’ve turned from boys to men before our eyes, and I’m proud of them.”

Lecanto will open District 6A-6 tournament play next Wednesday, when they host Citrus for a 7:30 p.m. start.