- April 18, 2024
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Mainland beat Flagler Palm Coast 67-47 Tuesday night, but head coach Landis McCoy still thinks his team could have played better.
BY MATT MENCARINI | STAFF WRITER
They played fast and they played slow. Whatever the Mainland Buccaneers were doing Tuesday night seemed to be working.
Mainland (6-4) cruised to a 67-47 win over visiting Flagler Palm Coast Dec. 18, while playing both a press, uptempo style and also eating up clock in a half court offense.
“That’s just our game,” head coach Landis McCoy said. “We’ve been doing that for years. The biggest thing that we always try to do is control the tempo of the game.
“Most teams try to come in and outrun us, and then we try to do the reverse, and slow it down, and vice versa.”
The game started at a near crawled pace, and sat at 4-4 with 3:18 left in the first quarter, when McCoy sped the game up by putting in senior Cameron Hadley.
With Hadley or Turon Hough in the game, the Buccaneers ran full, three-quarter and half court pressure, converting turnovers into transition points.
The first quarter ended with the Bucs leading 27-18, thanks to eight points from the versatile Craig Wilmore, who McCoy said will play in the post or on the wing when Hadley is in the game running point.
“Craig is an explosive kid,” McCoy said. “He’s a young talent. He still has a lot of growing to do.”
Wilmore ended the night with a game-high 16 points. Hadley chipped in seven points, Dexter Gooding and Brandon Thompson scored nine, and five other Bucs
scored points in the game.
FPC had eight players score, but only three had points at halftime. Dustin Bowens led the Bulldogs with 12 points, followed by Willie Gardner with 10 points.
Despite his team increasing its lead after each quarter — the Bucs led by five points at the end of the first quarter, nine points at half, 15 after the third quarter and 20 points at the end of the game — McCoy quickly found areas to critique.
“Overall, we played pretty decent,” he said. “I expect a lot more. We need to be able to manage the clock a lot better, in closing out quarters.”
Mainland may be 10 games into its season, but its only had its full roster for about six games. Hadley, Jamal Hughes and Marcus Brunson missed the first four games while finishing up the football season.
“Our guys are still trying to find out what we do best, and who does what,” McCoy said. “As coaches, we’re still trying to find that rotation. … I mean, it’s a learning process for the kids, and for the coaches.”
Mainland doesn’t play again until Jan. 8, at home, against Spruce Creek. After another home game Jan. 10, against Deltona, the Bucs travel to rival Seabreeze Jan. 12, for a rematch of the 69-34 win from earlier this season.
