PUNTA GORDA – John Gamble scored 18 points and the Charlotte High School boys basketball team used a huge second quarter to coast to a 68-54 victory over IMG Academy’s White team Monday at the Wally Keller Gymnasium.
The win ended a two-game skid for the Tarpons (2-2), who are in the middle of a very busy week.
Gamble led four Tarpons in double figures which included sophomore Jordan Attia.
Attia scored 15 points on five shots from beyond the arc, three of which came in the second quarter when Charlotte outscored IMG, 23-10, to give the Tarpons a 36-17 lead at the half.
Charlotte led by as much as 24 in the third quarter before emptying the bench.
“We finally made shots. We’ve been waiting on Jordan to do that all year,” Charlotte coach Mike Williams said. “We shared the ball well, made some plays and we played better because we played calm. It was a better overall team effort.”
Gamble had a well-balanced evening, adding four assists to his total and helping the Tarpons pull away in the first half with several dunks.
Attia, who came off the bench to provide an offensive spark, was relieved to finally be able to provide what was promised when he made the squad as a sophomore, hearing “Attia from Thria” from the public address announcer.
“I wasn’t shooting well early on, but tonight it really started clicking. I’ve been locking in with help from my teammates,” Attia said. “I’ve found the open areas and when my teammates see me, they can get me the ball.”
Chris Cornish added 12 points and Blake Maddox had 10, eight of them after halftime. Both led Charlotte with six rebounds.
A trio of IMG White players, J.D. Thomas, Regan Cornish and Jackson Roberts, were tied with 11 points. Chanon Frye added nine.
Despite the balanced attack, it was obvious things got away from the Ascenders (1-3) in that second quarter.
“We started turning the basketball over, making poor decisions and allowing them to get a rhythm on their transition,” IMG White coach Elliot Washington said. “You can’t give a good basketball team open looks like we did in that second quarter.”
This won’t be the last time Charlotte will deal with IMG this week. Their Blue team, featuring the tallest teenager in the world, seven-foot, six-inch Olivier Rioux, comes to Punta Gorda on Wednesday.
GULF COAST HEAT 60, IMAGINE 59
Angelo Blas led the Imagine School boys basketball team in a one-point loss on Monday night, scoring 27 points with seven steals and seven rebounds.
Wesley Woods (seven points, six rebounds) and Damian Bates (six points, eight rebounds, four assists) provided additional firepower for the Sharks.
Imagine (0-4) will host Lemon Bay at 7 p.m. tonight.
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