West Port survives close contest with Wildwood, 70-68

West Port’s Lenard Hill (11) looks for a shot on the hoop as he is defended by Wildwood’s Jah Munn (24) and Terriyon Bryant (21) during a game in the Kingdom of the Sun tournament at Vanguard High School in Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, Dec. 28, 2021. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

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Posted December 29, 2021 | By Joel Bronson

joel@ocalagazette.com

Coming off a tough loss to Vanguard in the opening round of the Kingdom of the Sun holiday tournament, the West Port Wolf Pack outlasted the Wildwood Wildcats 70-68 on Tuesday morning.

Both teams came out sluggish after playing the night before, hence the low scoring 13-8 first quarter in favor of West Port.

Wildwood came out hot in the second quarter with tenacious defense and clutch baskets to tie the game at 28 going into the half.

Freshman guard Adyn Corbin fueled the Wildcats in the third quarter, hitting two clutch 3-pointers, while junior forward Zechariah Poyser nailed a 3-pointer from 40 feet at the buzzer to give Wildwood a 51-47 lead going into the fourth.

Poyser scored 17 points and grab 6 rebounds for the Wildcats.

West Port would come out strong to begin the fourth, led by the ball handling of senior guard Juan Santana, who contributed 14 points and a team high 6 assists.

Junior forward Lillious Floyd scored a team high 22 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in the win.

West Port head coach Bernard Smith was excited to get the win against a scrappy Wildwood squad.

“I am proud of our guys for coming back against a tough Wildwood team,” Smith said. “After a tough loss to Vanguard it was good to fight back and get a win.”

Wildwood will exit the tournament with its second loss of the event.

West Port will move on to play in the next round of the consolation bracket on Wednesday. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.