Region 1-5A boys: Rutherford rolls past Gulf Breeze

SPRINGFIELD — Jon Wade held to four first-half points and not one single free throw made by Rutherford the entire game — with only two attempted.

The Rams were in trouble in their Region 1-5A semifinal Tuesday night against Gulf Breeze. Right?

Yup. For all of 2 minutes, 18 seconds.

That’s how long it took the Rams to score. By the time Gulf Breeze answered it was 23-0 as Rutherford rolled on with a 65-35 blowout victory. The Rams advanced to host Terry Parker, which edged Ponte Vedra in overtime Tuesday, on Saturday night in the Region 1-5A title game.

“We were motivated, let’s just leave it at that,” Rutherford coach Rhondie Ross said after his team had defeated Gulf Breeze for the fourth time this season.

The third game in the series was a nail biter to determine the district title. This one was settled two minutes into the second quarter.

“We played with great energy,” Ross continued. “They were focused from last week. They knew how tough they played us. We were extremely motivated.”

Rutherford, 23-4, held the Dolphins without a point until Mike White converted an offensive rebound 3:11 before halftime. Until then, the Rams had forged an insurmountable 23-point cushion against a team that had extended them to the final possession just 10 days earlier.

This time Rutherford hounded Dolphin standout Chris Taylor from the opening tip with Khaliel Spearman, Wade and Adam Stanford denying him good looks at the basket.

When Spearman and Tony Mixon got hot early from the outside the margin continued to expand. Kiki Williamson swished a 15-footer at the first-quarter buzzer for a 10-0 edge. Spearman then drained eight of his 14 points in the second quarter, his third 3-pointer of the game coming from halfcourt at the second-quarter buzzer.

It was 28-6 at intermission. Wade then took over with 13 points in the third quarter. The Rams were five of seven behind the arc while finishing 9-14 for the game. By contrast, the Dolphins, a solid outside shooting team were just 3-16.

Wade scored at will from inside and outside in the second half to finish with 23 points. Mixon matched Spearman’s 14 and Williamson had six points and seven assists.

Taylor finally got untracked to pace the Dolphins with 12 points and White worked hard inside for eight. It was an evening, however, where the harder Gulf Breeze attempted to get back into the game the farther it fell behind.

The Dolphins finished a solid season 17-9.

Rutherford advanced to host Terry Parker, which eliminated Ponte Vedra 65-59. It will be a rematch of a game in early January that Terry Parker won in Jacksonville.

Ross foresaw the possible showdown on Saturday and purposely scheduled the Braves on the road to better prepare his squad for the playoffs. Whether that strategy pays off in a Final Four berth will be determined starting at 7 p.m. Saturday.

• GULF BREEZE (35)
• Surra 0 0-0 0, Halpin 0 0-0 0, Torgerson 0 0-0 0, President 3 0-0 7, Meredeth 0 0-0 0, Bookout 0 0-0 0, Franks 1 0-0 2, Idiaquez 0 0-0 0, White 4 0-1 8, Taylor 3 4-4 12, Enzion 1 0-0 2, Bennett 2 0-1 4. Totals: 14 4-6 35.
• RUTHERFORD (65)
• Steele 1 0-0 2, Williamson 3 0-0 6, Lacroix 0 0-0 0, James 0 0-2 0, Stanford 2 0-0 4, Mixon 6 0-0 14, Jos.Wade 0 0-0 0, Jon.Wade 10 0-0 23, Spearman 5 0-0 14, Banks 1 0-0 2, Carr 0 0-0 0, Jencks 0 0-0 0. Totals: 28 0-2 65.
• Gulf Breeze 0 6 18 11 — 35
• Rutherford 10 18 21 16 — 65
• 3-point goals: Gulf Breeze 3-16 (Taylor 2, President), Rutherford 9-14 (Spearman 4, Jon.Wade 3, Mixon 2). Total fouls: Gulf Breeze 9, Rutherford 11. Fouled out: none.