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Hernando secured the top seed for the Class 3A, District 6 tournament with a 65-62 victory over Nature Coast Tech on Jan. 30. It marked the first time since 1997 the Leopards earned a No. 1 seed.
Hernando trailed by 13 in the second half and seven at the end of the third quarter. But Jeff Brown and Kyle Swanston combined for 21 of 24 fourth-quarter points to rally the Leopards.
Brown finished with 28 points, Swanston 24.
As of Thursday Hernando (12-9, 6-2) had a two-game lead over Wildwood (4-3 district), which had one district game remaining. The Leopards open district tournament play Feb. 20 at home against the winner of a play-in game between the Nos. 4 and 5 teams.
"If things hold the same right now, I believe we'd play the winner of Pasco-South Sumter, which is a dangerous game," Hernando coach Jeff Laing said. "South Sumter has played well of late, and I don't think Pasco's record (10-10, 2-5) is indicative of their ability."
Hernando, 4-0 in district games at home this season, swept Pasco and Nature Coast and split with South Sumter and Wildwood.
The picture is murkier in Class 4A, District 9, where two games separate the top six teams and Central (14-7, 8-5) can finish anywhere between first and fifth depending on the outcomes of games Thursday and today.
Central, 9-1 with games remaining against Hernando and Citrus, clinched at least a share of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference championship. No other team has fewer than three conference losses.
"We've locked a tie, but we don't really want a tie," Central coach John Sedlack said. "We've got to win one of our next two to win the conference by ourselves."