Niceville leaning on ‘D' in playoffs

NICEVILLE — The Niceville boys basketball team has undergone an identity change in the playoffs.

The important thing for the Eagles is that the switch hasn’t led to an identity crisis.

For a team that commonly scores 70 points or better, the fact that Niceville (27-3) didn’t break 50 in two of its three regional games is a cause for concern leading into today’s 3 p.m. matchup with Tampa Sickles (28-2) in the Class 5A state semifinals at The Lakeland Center.

But it’s only a minor concern, and that can be attributed to a shutdown defense that’s tempered the Eagles’ recent shooting struggles.

“It’s almost like a reversal,” Niceville coach Jerome Strutchen said. “They went from not shooting well to being better able to defend. And that was huge in the last three games.”

It’s going to need to be huge against Sickles, which averages a modest 64.8 points per game. The Gryphons certainly haven’t been an offensive juggernaut of late, winning each of their three regional games without reaching 50 points.

If the game turns into a defensive battle, the Eagles believe they’ll be fine.

“Our offensive game has been kind of slacking in the playoffs, but we’ve picked it up defensive-wise and actually played the best defense we have all year,” senior Hunter Curtis said. “That just shows another aspect of our team, how we’re struggling in one aspect but we can make up for it in another.”

While Niceville will be making its first final four appearance since 1966, the Eagles believe they’ll quickly adapt to the big-time environment and their opponent.

“We’re going to play our game,” senior Kirk Perry said. “We’re pretty smart on the floor. We’re pretty quick to adjust to teams’ offenses, defenses. Hopefully we can just get in there, stay calm, evaluate the situation and just play basketball.”

When it comes to a defensive game-plan, Curtis believes the Eagles don’t need to complicate matters.

“We’ve got to mark their key players and make sure they don’t get hot, and I think we’ll be OK,” he said.

Niceville did that in its first three playoff victories. The Eagles held Milton to 43 points, Tate to 60 and Gainesville to 38. Those shrewd defensive efforts allowed the Eagles to pull off three tight victories.

A similar output against Sickles could allow them to claim a berth in the state finals.

“Offensively we’re not shooting it well right now, and that might be because (our opponents) are playing so hard defensively,” Strutchen said. “But I’ll take defending a team over scoring on a team because if you’ve got a lead that defense is what’s going to get you (a win) at the end.”