Newsome wins SEBA summer league

Posted Jul 1, 2009 by Nick Williams

Updated Jul 1, 2009 at 08:46 PM

TAMPA The Newsome boys basketball team defeated Oldsmar Christian, 67-59, on Wednesday night at Tampa Prep to win the Southeast Basketball Academy Summer League Championship.

The Wolves finished 11-3 overall and 5-0 in the playoffs to capture the league title, which consisted of 27 teams, including Clearwater, Sickles, Kathleen and Tampa Prep.

“This will give us confidence going into the season,” said Newsome rising senior forward Samal Shepherd, who led the Wolves to its first playoffs appearance this past season while averaging 19.5 points per game. “It showed we’re one of the better teams [in Hillsborough County]. We’re on the rise.”

Newsome led 63-59 with under a minute remaining when Oldsmar turned the ball over and was forced to foul. Newsome rising senior forward Jake Hodges sank two free throws to give his team a 67-59 lead. Unable to score on the opposite end, Oldsmar was forced to foul again, this time sending rising junior guard Trent MacKey to the line with 3.9 left in the game. MacKey made both free throws to close out the game.

Newsome defeated Blake in the semifinals to advance while Oldsmar Christian beat Tampa Prep.

“We’ve added some new players and our chemistry has been off,” Oldsmar Christian coach Ryan Pannone said. “We did well against Tampa Prep but we didn’t play well against Newsome. They out-rebounded us and out-played us.”