Everglades City Spoils Rays Senior Night

The first time Marco Island Academy basketball coach Jim Watt faced Everglades City this season he was surprised at the improvement the squad had made. The Gators were 77-73 overtime winners that night. On Thursday night, January 25, Watt knew what was coming, there just wasn’t much he could do to stop it, as the Gators prevailed, 80-67.

Watt has rarely had the luxury of having three starters available for a game this season, between injury and illness. Thursday night, he had just two starters in action.

Instead of a thriller, the Rays found themselves outmanned against the Gators, who jumped to a 26-12 first quarter lead and were never really threatened. Though outmanned, the Rays fought till the end, actually whittling the lead to 10 points down the stretch.

“You know our bench is very thin,” said Jim Watt after the game, "and I'm getting everything we can out of these guys. They're working hard and they didn't give up. In fact, they cut the lead at the end. I was very proud of them.”

Unfortunately for MIA, the Gators are getting the most out of their guys, too.

Take sharpshooting eighth grader Jamere Osceola, for instance. Osceola scored 11 points in the first quarter, including three three-pointers. He ended up with 28 points, with six threes. Three more Gators were in double figures - sophomore Jovanny Torres (11), sophomore Kelvin Huggins (11), and eighth grader Tayin Fairclough (10).

Watt got gutty performances from his roster, notably lone senior Grayson Jones, who turned in a hard nosed performance, scoring 21 points with six rebounds, five steals, and four assists.

"I felt bad,” Watt said, "Grayson was upset. It was senior night. He was tired. He worked hard and he was emotional because it's his last regular season game. He'll be missed next year. He's a workhorse. You know Grayson, he's a quiet leader. He leads through example, and everybody follows his example. He's very coachable. He listens. I couldn’t be more proud of him. Gonna be sad to see him go.”

The Rays also got a top performance from sophomore Veleon Nazarko, who scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Next up is the Paradise Coast Athletic Conference tournament for both the Rays and Gators.

Check out the additional photos of the game.