Middleton, Fla. — The Villages High School boys basketball team dropped its opener to the 2025 Iverson Classic Blackout Signature Series, falling 67-53 to West Oaks Academy (Orlando) on Friday night in Middleton.
VHS (16-5 overall) trailed all evening long as it struggled to deal with the height of the Flame (17-7), who featured a pair of seven-footers and additional length on the wings, while the Buffalo also did themselves in shooting the basketball.
The Villages shot just 34% from the field and also finished 4-of-15 from the free-throw line — the worst mark of the season — as the Buffalo fell inside the VHS Gymnasium for the first time in almost a full calendar year (Jan. 27, 2024).
"(The height) really affected us, especially in the first half, and I think it forced us to get a little stagnant and then maybe also forced some shots that we didn't want," said Buffalo head coach
Colt McDowell. "We did a much better job making them move around (defensively) in the second half to make the game a little more simple and easy, but we've got to continue to learn to play more aggressively and unselfishly for each other."
VHS fell behind 36-21 at the half after making just 5-of-24 shots from the floor, as the seven-foot duo of Marcis Ponder and Paulo Semedo Bala controlled the paint and forced the Buffalo to mostly settle for deep jumpers.
The Buffalo clawed back within six points on two different occasions midway through the third quarter, but West Oaks extended its lead back to 10 at the end of the period. The visitors from Orlando kept a double-digit lead throughout the majority of the fourth quarter en route to snapping a 14-game home win streak for VHS.
Aaron Britt, Jr. led the way for VHS with 17 points, while
Adyn Corbin finished with 13 and
Herly Brutus had 11.
The Iverson Classic Blackout Signature Series will close Saturday with 13 games played across two gyms on the campus of VHS, with the host Buffalo capping the event with an 8 p.m. tip against Westminster Academy (Fort Lauderdale).
"There's a good chance that if we're fortunate enough to get back to the Final Four, we're going to play back-to-back games against two really good teams, and that's why we do an event like this," McDowell said. "We want to figure out how to put our two best games together when it matters the most."
Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment via email at cody.hills@tvcs.org.
