Playoffs underway in center’s adult basketball, soccer leagues
The gym at the Anna Maria Island Community Center is heating up.
Duncan Real Estate scored a come-from-behind, 47-45 victory over Island Real Estate in the Nov. 18 opening game of playoffs in the adult basketball league at the center, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria.
Andrew Turman’s 15-footer from the wing with just over two minutes remaining gave Duncan its first and only lead of the game, capping a comeback that saw the team trail by as many as 10 points.
Island Real Estate raced to a 15-5 lead and looked ready to record an easy win, but with time running out in the first quarter, Ray Gardner was fouled on a 3-point attempt. He made all three free throws to cut the IRE lead to 15-8.
The second quarter began with the teams trading baskets. Midway, Duncan Real Estate pulled to within 4 points on back-to-back 3-pointers from Gardner and Jordan Demers, but IRE extended its lead to 29-19 behind 7 points from Alex Tannan and 4 points from Terry Henry. Gardner stopped the run with a driving layup and the half ended with IRE holding a 29-21 lead.
The third quarter was more of the same as Duncan tried to claw its way back into the game. Turman hit a 3-pointer to pull them within 5 points, but Alban Gega scored on a spin move to restore IRE’s lead.
The fourth-quarter comeback was fueled by the scoring of Demers and Turman. Demers came up with an offensive rebound putback to pull Duncan to within 3 points with 5:36 to play. Tannan was fouled and made one free throw, but Turman came through with a 3-pointer, making the score 42-41 for Island Real Estate.
Elisio restored IRE’s lead when he scored down low and was fouled for a 3-point play, giving Island Real Estate a 45-41 lead with just over four minutes to play.
Demers scored down low and, after a defensive stop for Duncan, he put back an offensive rebound off of a Turman miss to tie the score at 45-45 with 2:58 to play.
The teams traded possessions until Gardner drove the lane and kicked the ball out to Turman on the wing, who swished it through the hoop for what turned out to be the game-winning shot.
IRE had a couple of chances, but Henry missed a 3-pointer with just over a minute remaining and Elisio missed the front end of a one on one.
Demers finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Turman had 16 points, six rebounds and three assists. Gardner added 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists to complete the Duncan Real Estate scoring.
Elisio finished with 17 points and five rebounds to lead Island Real Estate, which also received 13 points and nine rebounds from Tannan and 7 points and five rebounds from Gega in the loss.
Gator Man Pools edged Sugar Beach Digital 59-56 in the second playoff game of the night. Joe Combs had 17 points and five rebounds and Dale Smith added 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Gator squad. Brandon Osmond added 11 points and Aaron Dudukes finished with 10 points in the victory.
Matt Ray scored 21 points and Brandon Kern finished with 14 points to lead Sugar Beach Digital, which also received 10 points each in the loss from Eric Gledhill and Jason Mickan.
The play-in game opened the playoffs Nov. 17 as fifth-seed Poppos took on fourth-seed Sugar Beach Digital.
Brandon Kern led Sugar Beach with 29 points and nine assists, while Matt Ray added 22 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Jason Mickan finished with 17 points and Bobby Dawes had 12 points to round out the Sugar Beach scoring.
Poppos’ Teagan Purtil scored 40 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists to lead Poppos in the loss. Shawn Hubbard also had a big game, scoring 17 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and handing out eight assists.
Adult soccer playoffs kick off
With the regular season over, the battle for the Island Cup on the center soccer field is officially on. The adult soccer league played four opening round playoff games Nov. 20.
The first game of the evening saw Wash Family Construction slip past Sato Real Estate by a 1-0 score. Ray Gardner was strong in goal, making 14 saves to preserve the shutout victory.
Eason Builders defeated Beacon Design by a 4-2 score in the second match of the night behind a pair of goals from Matt Plummer and a goal each from Scott Eason and Joey Ciasullo. Jeff Walker added an assist and Wes Robinson made eight saves in goal.
Omar Polar and Shawn Kaleta each scored goals to lead Beacon Design, while Jordan Demers made 10 saves in the loss.
Jessie’s Island Store rode a hat trick from Jeff Christianson to record a 5-1 victory over Island Pest Control in the third match of the evening. Perry Pittman and Donald Christianson each added one goal while Holly Belton chipped in with an assist.
Oliver Peteriet scored the lone goal for Island Pest Control in the loss, while Nate Talucci made nine saves.
The final match of the evening saw Dojo Martial Arts roll to an easy 4-1 victory over Slim’s Place behind a pair of goals from Chris Circharo. Adam Bujarski also had a strong game with a goal and two assists, while Chelsey Hoffner completed the scoring in the victory with one goal.
Josh Pettit notched the lone goal for Slim’s Place, which also received 11 saves from Will Case in the loss.
The playoffs continue Dec. 3 with semifinals at the center, while the Island Cup will be decided at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4.
Horseshoe news
There were two outright winners during last week’s action at the Anna Maria City Hall horseshoe pits. On Nov. 19, it was the team of Sam Samuels and Paul Sheatler earning the trip to the winner’s circle. Samuels was in the mix again on Nov. 22, teaming up with John Crawford to earn the day’s bragging rights.
Play gets underway at 9 a.m. every Wednesday and Saturday at the Anna Maria City Hall pits. Warmups begin at 8:45 a.m. Everyone is welcome to play.