Spanish River knocks off John I. Leonard in Regional Semifinal

Feb 22, 2012 -- 4:51pm

By Wells Dusenbury

The first three times Spanish River and John I. Leonard played this year, each game went down to the wire with all three being decided by four points or less. The fourth meeting didn't follow suit. Behind an explosive first quarter run, Spanish River routed John I. Leonard 71-51 in the 8A Regional Semifinal, advancing to the Regional Finals for the first time in school history.

Led by their big four of Reggie Love, Evan Kupferberg, Dante Scholl and Coltin Gelb, the Sharks jumped out to a 24-5 first quarter lead and never looked back. The Lancers were able to cut the deficit to three during the third quarter, but Spanish River put them away in the 4th after another big run.

The Sharks will go on the road Saturday night to play Deerfield Beach in the Regional Finals, with a trip to the State Semifinals on the line.

VIDEO: Highlights from Spanish River's win over John I. Leonard

VIDEO: Spanish River coach John Jones' post-game media session