SOUTHWEST MIAMI SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL EAGLES BASKETBALL
PALMETTO RAINS ON REUNION
In front of close to 100 former players, parents, coaches, and teachers, Southwest fell to third-ranked Palmetto, 66-47. The Panthers, coached by former Eagle Chris Brown, used 20 first-half points from Tim Hardaway, Jr. to jump to a 28-11 lead midway through the second quarter. Gio Gonzalez' 3-pointer, his first of six on the evening, sparked a comeback that cut the Panthers lead to 33-23 at the half. Two Michael Juachon baskets, followed by a Leo Torres two-pointer cut the margin to 34-29 early in the third period. Hardaway then asserted himself with two 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 36 points and the Eagles never got close again. Gonzalez led Southwest with 28 points and Ray Lleonart added 11. After the game, current and former players gathered in the school cafeteria. Three different TVs were set up playing highlights from 3 different decades. One long table had hundreds of Mr. Cunningham's photos for players to look through and take. The walls were decorated with old schedule posters and another table had pizza, donuts and other pastries.
EAGLES LOSE 4 UNDERCLASSMEN
Four returning seniors are no longer with the team. Khristian Godoy, who had the third-highest grade on the coaches' stat sheet last season, will be concentrating on volleyball. Rumors have it that Brian Stewart, Danny Portales, and Daniel Rams were involuntarily separated from the team, but coaches refused to confirm this.
SOUTHWEST RANKED 21st
Southwest is ranked 21st among 26 class 6A teams in the Miami Herald's pre-season preview of Miami-Dade teams. The Eagles are picked to finish fourth in their district, behind Columbus, South Miami, and Braddock.
EAGLES TOP KILLIAN IN OT
Gio Gonzalez scored 8 of his game-high 23 points in the overtime period to lead host Southwest over Killian, 46-41, in a pre-season game. Southwest led 9-4 after one period, 15-11 at the half, and 27-25 after three quarters. With 1:25 remaining in regulation, the Cougars, coached by former Eagle Nick Ronda, hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 35. After 3 consecutive turnovers returned the possession to Killian, the Cougars missed shots with 25 seconds left and again with 17 seconds left. With 2.5 ticks on the clock, Southwest missed a shot forcing the overtime. Two free throws 11 seconds into the extra period gave Killian their first lead since it was 2-0. That's when Gonzalez took over hitting baskets at 3:25, 2:40, and 2:18 to put the Eagles up 41-37. He then clinched the win sinking both ends of a one-and-one with 8 seconds remaining. Southwest plays its final preseason game Friday night at 7:30pm, followed by an alumni reunion in the school cafeteria.
Gio Gonzalez starred Thursday night. NEW DISTRICT ALLIGNMENT
District 15-6A shrinks from 8 teams to 7 this season with the loss of Coral Park and Coral Gables and the addition of RR Doral.
FINAL 2008-2009 DISTRICT 15 STANDINGS:
South Miami Braddock Columbus SOUTHWEST Coral Park Ferguson Coral Gables Sunset LINKS:
Southwest Miami Senior High School official site
Florida High School Activities Association
National Federation of State High School AssociationsContact the webmaster: rosentha@fiu.edu
