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Wildcats' press snaps Bucs' winning streak

WESLEY CHAPEL -- Wesley Chapel's Kent Mills wasn't surprised when Gulf opened up a 22-12 first-quarter lead on his Wildcats on Tuesday.

In fact, the coach was well prepared to counter Gulf coach Steve Feldman's assault with varying fullcourt presses.

As a result of Wesley Chapel's defensive intensity, the Bucs commited 26 turnovers that the Wildcats used to go on a 52-22 run in the second and third quarters and claim an 86-72 win that snapped Gulf's six-game winning streak.

Mills also adjusted on the offensive end when his Wildcats continued their recent slump from 3-point range. Wesley Chapel (4-2) has hit 4 of 39 from outside in the past two games.

"We scored 86 points tonight without hitting a three. That means my inside game is working hard," Mills said. "We're not knocking long shots down, so we did adjust there. We started throwing it inside."

Junior forwards David Simpson and Tyrone Tomlin took advantage of the increased touches. Simpson scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the second half and Tomlin scored eight of his 10 points in the final two quarters.

Senior guard Spencer Honeycutt was scoreless in the first quarter but responded by scoring 15 of his 17 points in the Wildcats' big run.

The Wildcats' backcourt of Honeycutt, Zach Mills and Chase Bussey accounted for 18 steals.

"Their pressure really dictated the tempo," Feldman said. "We had prided ourselves coming in on being a much-improved defensive team. When you're giving up quick transition points off steals ... I give Wesley Chapel all the credit on this, but we were definitely shooting ourselves in the foot."

However, Gulf (6-1) did fight back to score 28 points in the fourth quarter. Craig Pridemore scored nine of his game-high 23 points in the fourth. He also added 9 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks.

Trent Kennison chipped in 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists for the Bucs.

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