Number 5, Charles Ruise, Jr.

The Wildcat faithful hope that the varsity basketball team has finally turned the corner. The Cats are riding a three-game win streak going into the Florida First Coast Classic (see related story), and won two of those games this past week with home victories over Baldwin and Interlachen.

The wins gave the Cats a 3-5 record after losing their first three games. Coach Charles Ruise was upbeat and promised his team would “surprise people.”

It was sweet retribution for the Wildcats to beat the Indians, who had hammered BCHS in Baldwin 61-44 and dominated all aspects of the game early this season. The Cats returned the favor on December 13 with a 65-55 pasting of Baldwin.

For much of the game it was a nip and tuck affair with both teams trading basket for basket. BCHS got the early edge with three-point shots from Jesse Gardner and Cameron Mack to give them a slim 12-10 lead at the end of the first period.

The Wildcat varsity basketball team notched its first win of the season on Saturday, December 10 with a home victory over Crescent City. The 51-37 victory doesn’t really speak to the domination of the Raiders.

BCHS was hitting from the outside and the Raiders weren’t able to counteract the hot shooting. Charles Ruise Jr. and Jesse Gardner were both nailing three pointers as BCHS ran out to a 14-4 lead in the early going.

The Cats continued to build on their lead in the second period, despite the fact that the Raiders’ top scorer David Curry kept Crescent City close. BCHS took a 27-15 lead into the locker room.

Both teams came out for the second half cold as ice with BCHS outscoring the Raiders 6-3. But the Cats woke up in the fourth period and Gardner hit two more long distance shots.

Ruise and Gardner shared top scoring honors for BCHS with 12 points each. Gardner’s all came on three-point shots. Johnny Lamb had 8 points. Curry had a game high 18 points for Crescent City.

“We think that when these young kids get some wind under their sails that they are going to shock some people,” said Ruise. “We’re hoping that this win will help us turn the corner.”

The Cats were not so fortunate earlier in the week when they lost to district rival Forrest 60-40 on the road December 8. Forrest had three players in double figures as it used a big first half to hold off a Wildcat run.

Caitlin Smith on the defense.

For most teams the thought of four straight road games over the course of a week would be daunting. But for the Wildcat girls’ basketball team it couldn’t have been better. The girls went on a four-game win streak to run their record to 5-3.

The Lady Cats defeated Baldwin 65-57 on November 29 to get a little revenge for a one-point home loss to the Indians earlier in the year. Tiana Raysor had her best game of the season, throwing in 20 points. The offensive woes that had bothered BCHS early in the season disappeared as four Cats were in double figures.

The game was close throughout, with BCHS up 31-23 at the half. Raysor came alive with 8 points in the third period as the Cats extended their lead to 48-31. The Indians came back in the fourth period, but it was too little too late.

Raysor had 20 on the night. Chelsey Ruise and Marnae Gaskins each had a dozen points and Shanice Paige added 11 points.

• The girls traveled to Terry Parker on November 30 and snatched a big district win over the Braves with a 72-49 romp.

BCHS broke open a 16-14 game in the second quarter, going on a 20-9 run. Parker never recovered and the Cats built on their lead. They were up 48-34 at the end on the third quarter but a 23 point final stanza sealed the win.

Ruise’s 29 led all scorers. Gaskins had 13, Raysor 11 and Paige 7 points.

• BCHS had a tough game in Callahan on Friday, November 2 coming from a 26-18 halftime deficit to grab a 52-47 win over West Nassau.

It was an exciting game that saw the Lady Cats pull it out in the fourth quarter. They trailed 35-30 going into the final period, but came back with 20 points to pull out the win.