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Springstead's Hennigan is one cool customer

By DAVID MURPHY
Published January 25, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - As the minutes elapsed and the shots fell Tuesday night, the temperature inside the Springstead gymnasium seemed to rise accordingly. But with a close-to-standing-room-only crowd screaming at the top of its lungs and a three-team refereeing crew pausing a few times to wipe condensation off of the Eagles' tacky blue court, the tall, slender kid wearing No. 44 in white never seemed cooler.

Despite a frenetic Nature Coast Tech defense determined to stop Springstead's high-powered attack, senior swingman Tim Hennigan dropped 18 points, grabbed five rebounds and turned in a performance that was typical of his team: smooth, effective and well-rounded.

Hennigan, who is averaging 14 points per game and is the county's leading three-point shooter, shrugged off the performance, giving credit instead to the Eagles' defense. But Springstead coach Craig Swartout singled out his senior and gave him credit for helping to turn around the fortunes of his team, which finished the first quarter trailing by four yet wound up winning 59-47.

"We knew we had to play our hearts out," Hennigan said.

Springstead did, and now it enters the district tournament with all the momentum it could ask for. The Eagles are one win away from finishing the regular season undefeated in district play. And a game against St. Pete Catholic Tuesday should serve to toughen them up.

But even as Nature Coast coach Travis Priddy stood outside the visitor's locker room and admitted that his team had been outplayed, he expressed confidence that the Sharks, who lost to the Eagles in overtime the first time they met, will fare differently once the district tournament starts.

"If that is Springstead's best shot, we'll take it," said Priddy, whose team will enter the tourney seeded No. 2, behind the Eagles. "I'm so proud of our guys. They played so hard. I don't like to lose, but I'm very happy with our guys."

But it now looks like it will take a perfect effort to prevent Springstead from reaching the playoffs for the second straight year. The Eagles are big. They can shoot. And sophomore point guard Dante Valentine seems to improve with every game.

But perhaps most important of all is the presence of No. 44.

[Last modified January 24, 2007, 22:47:41]