Paxton starts strong, holds off South Walton

FREEPORT – Powered by a 15-0 run to start the game, Paxton beat rival South Walton 58-40 in second round play of the 17th Annual Hilton Sandestin Beach Basketball Blowout on Wednesday.

Paxton will play either Freeport or Cookeville (Tenn.) in the tournament semifinals tonight at 8:30 p.m.

The Bobcats (11-2) could seemingly do no wrong the first five minutes of play as they raced to the big lead.

Chad Zessin, who led all scorers with 22 points, scored the game’s first basket as Paxton was just getting warmed up.

All five Bobcat starters scored during the run. Dustin Geoghagan followed Zessin’s bucket with a 3-pointer. Ryan Gilbert, Marcus Bradley and Mason McCormick all got into the act as well.

“I thought we played well,” Paxton coach Jeff Bradley said. “We made some big shots early and were up 15-0 at one time.

“They got kind of shocked. We made a lot of shots and they didn’t make any, but they responded. They have a nice team.”

The Seahawks (8-5) finally got on the board with 2:19 left in the first quarter when Shafer Martin hit a pair of free throws.

Paxton led 21-6 at the end of the first quarter and looked to have the game well in hand.

But South Walton wouldn’t go away.

Edward Howard hit a pair of 3-point baskets in the second quarter as the Seahawks chipped away at the Bobcats lead.

But playing down by 12 at the half the Seahawks couldn’t afford to play even with Paxton. South Walton needed a big run, or a couple of small runs to put a dent in the Bobcat advantage.

A Martin basket in the opening seconds of the third quarter cut the Bobcat lead to 31-21, but that’s as close as the Seahawks got.

Zessin scored five quick points to push the lead back to 15 and Paxton maintained a comfortable lead throughout the second half. Zessin was joined in double figures for Paxton by Bradley (13 points) and McCormick (13).

Howard topped the Seahawks with 16 points. Martin and Elisha Gundrum each added six points for the Seahawks.

“We were flat coming out,” South Walton coach John Davies said. “We were in a zone and I knew we were probably going to go man and we did. And then the switch it took us a second or two to get adjusted to our own switch.

“But from that 15-0 we played them close. But they are just well coached and so fundamentally sound.”