Hoop hysterics: Pirates notch inaugural win

The football hangover in Dade City has subsided -- at least from a basketball perspective.

Pasco's boys basketball team, which lost its first nine games while most of its roster competed in a prolonged football season, edged Sunlake 45-44 for its first win Tuesday. Hakeeme Ishmar, one of six Pirates who also played football, took a charge in the final seconds to negate a Seahawks basket and preserve the win. Josh Johnson, a Purdue football commitment, led the team with 24 points.

"We tried to keep an even keel (after the game), but it was jubilation," said first-year coach Derek Heard, whose losses have been by an average of 34.2 points. "A big monkey off my shoulders. It wasn't pretty, but we finally got one."

Even as the Pirate football team reached the Class 3A semifinals, Heard was hamstrung; his entire projected starting lineup played on Tom McHugh's 12-2 squad. Pasco lost its opener to Springstead, 88-12, and failed to score 30 points in any of its first five contests.

In the five games since football ended, Pasco has been more competitive but still hadn't come within single digits of an opponent until Tuesday. Some football players left Heard's team shortly after arriving, and senior point guard Marquis Dixon (knee) is out for the time being.

"It's been a tough, ever-changing transition," Heard said.

JOEY KNIGHT

 

Comments

[philphan]

Congratulations to Coach Heard. I met him at the Brighthouse Shootout and have seen him a couple of times since. He is a great coach. He will eventually make that a great team if given the attention by the students. I am glad that they got their first win and hope to see them get some more. Good luck to the Pirates!!