- April 18, 2024
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Buccaneers guard Da'Tonio Robinson shoots a 3-pointer over a Sandcrabs defender. Photo by Ray Boone
Mainland coach Joe Giddens shouts instructions from the bench. Photo by Ray Boone
Seabreeze's Jalen Green plays defense against the Buccaneers. Photo by Ray Boone
Mainland's Rodney Rhoden attempts a mid-range jumper over Seabreeze's Mitchell Miller. Photo by Ray Boone
Seabreeze's Charles Johnson (No. 45) blocks a shot against Mainland. Photo by Ray Boone
Sandcrabs guard Jalen Green (No. 1) shoots a floater over a Mainland defender. Photo by Ray Boone
Mainland's Cornelius Smarr attempts a jumpshot against Seabreeze. Photo by Ray Boone
Mainland's Rodney Rhoden attempts a layup in the first quarter against Seabreeze. Photo by Ray Boone
Seabreeze coach Pepper Johnson argues a call from the bench. Photo by Ray Boone
Buccaneers forward Teron Keith blocks Seabreeze guard Riley Oldham's layup in the second half. Photo by Ray Boone
Seabreeze guard Riley Oldham drives in for a layup against Mainland. Photo by Ray Boone
Sandcrabs forward Tyrell Tellis-Martin goes up for a layup against the Buccaneers. Photo by Ray Boone
The Buccaneers' Joe Jackson drives in for a layup against Seabreeze. Photo by Ray Boone
Mainland forward Johnny Brown shoots a hook shot over a Seabreeze defender. Photo by Ray Boone
Mainland's De'Veon Robinson throws a pass against the Sandcrabs. Photo by Ray Boone
In almost every game, the Seabreeze boys basketball team has the smallest players on the court. But that didn’t stop the Sandcrabs from getting four offensive rebounds in a row on the very first possession of their game against Mainland.
“Pepper Johnson does a great job with his squad,” Mainland coach Joe Giddens said of the Sandcrabs’ head coach. “He’s almost always undersized, but they play so hard. I just had to tell my guys to tighten it up, and we did. We did a much better job in the second half.”
The Sandcrabs played with grit and toughness, but they were no match for a balanced and physical Mainland attack, as the Buccaneer’s routed Seabreeze 72-48 on the night of Saturday, Dec. 9, at Mainland High School. The Buccaneers were led by transfer guard Rodney Rhoden, who knocked down a pair of triples and scored a game-high 16 points.
Rhoden — who transferred from Spruce Creek after Giddens, the Hawks’ former coach, took the job at Mainland — didn’t want to talk about his game, though. He wanted to talk about his team.
“We shared the ball pretty well, and we played fast,” he said. “We pushed it when we needed to. We executed on most of our plays. Overall, we did a lot of good tonight.”
And despite the Sandcrabs’ toughness on both ends of the court, Mainland was never truly in danger of losing. The Buccaneers held a six-point lead after the first quarter — a lead that grew to 16 by the end of the first half. Entering the final quarter, the Buccaneers led 57-34.
“What we try to do every night is to just come out and play our hearts out, but at the beginning of the game, we just started out slow,” Rhoden said. “We weren’t really talking too much. When we went to the locker room, we kind of talked, and when we came back out, we were stronger.”
The same cannot be said of the Buccaneers’ previous game, however. After opening the season with convincing wins over Yulee and Pine Ridge, Mainland fell to Father Lopez 72-60 on Dec. 7 on the road.
The Buccaneers took the loss particularly hard.
“We really played our hearts out against Lopez,” Rhoden said. “We really wanted that game.”
The lopsided victory over the Sandcrabs was the much-needed spark to get the season back on track.
“I was concerned with how we were going to react tonight,” Giddens said. “I always tell my kids, ‘It’s a marathon, not a sprint.’ So, we’re going to keep getting better each game.
“We needed this.”
