The Sonic Drive-in Player-of-the-Game for Friday, January 11, is Tre Mann of The Villages boys’ basketball team.
Mann, a University of Florida signee, scored a game-high 29 points, including 12 in the third quarter as the Buffalo pulled away for an 80-67 win at Trinity Catholic (Ocala) on Friday night.
The win improved The Villages to 9-3 overall and 4-1 in District 5-5A, and it avenged a 65-62 loss at home to the Celtics a month ago.
The game was close for the first quarter and a half, and in fact was tied at 29-all with 3:30 left in the 2nd quarter. However, The Villages then went on a 9-4 run to take a 38-33 lead into the halftime break.
The Buffalo then came out after halftime and took control led by Mann’s huge third quarter. The Villages led by as many as 20 points and ended up with a 61-46 lead heading into the final period.
“We came out too soft last time,” Mann told the Ocala Star-Banner. “We didn’t box out well. They got the 50-50 balls. We worked hard in practice all week on that. We wanted to come out with intensity. We wanted nothing to come easy for them. No friends.”
The closest the Celtics could get in the fourth quarter was 13 points as The Villages got to the rebounds and loose balls all night and were just a step ahead of Trinity Catholic the entire game.
It wasn’t just the Tre Mann show for The Villages as senior Brandon Farmer added 20 points and 12 rebounds and another senior, Terry Ivery, chipped in with 16 points and six steals.
The loss dropped Trinity Catholic to 9-4 overall and into a first-place tie in district play with The Villages at 4-1.
The Celtics were led by sophomore Jarvy Gainey, who scored 19 of his 26 points in the first half, and junior Montez Leath, who added 18 points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Trinity Catholic had won the previous two meetings with The Villages, earlier this season in the Buffalo’s gym and in the District 5-5A tournament championship game last February.
The two teams are heavy favorites to meet again in the district tournament, which will be held on the Celtics’ floor in mid-February.
Every game The Prep Zone will recognize a Player-of-the-Game. The recipient receives a $10 gift certificate courtesy of Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville & Ocala.
