By FABRIZIO GOWDY | Feb. 4, 2020 | Sports

The Stanton College Preparatory School Blue Devils varsity boys basketball team clinched its first winning season since 2015 with a 74-59 win over the Yulee High School Hornets at home Monday night.

"I’m very happy for the guys. They’ve been here two, three years and they’ve earned the right to have a winning season," said Stanton Head Coach Rob Burnett.

Neither team was able to take a significant lead in the fast-paced opening minutes until Stanton pulled ahead late in the first quarter. Led by junior point guard Simeon Womack’s 12 first quarter points, the Blue Devils took a 13-11 lead with three minutes to play in the first and never relinquished it.

“Our good first quarter was what helped us keep the high scoring quarters going,” said Womack, who had 20 points by the end of the first half.

The second quarter saw Stanton take its 22-15 lead from the end of the first and build it into a 35-22 halftime lead.

After a brief halftime promotion in which three student contestants tried and failed to make a series of shots in 24 seconds in an attempt to win 10,000 dollars, the teams retook the floor. Yulee initially had momentum and looked as if it was ready to make a run, but Stanton quickly recovered. The Blue Devils ultimately expanded their lead by one and lead 54-40 going into the fourth quarter.

“We played well in the first half, but then the third quarter got a little bit rough. We started playing badly in the fourth, but we pulled it out,” said junior center Thomas McLaughlin.

The Hornets again started the quarter with momentum, scoring nine unanswered fourth quarter points and forcing Coach Burnett to take a timeout. Yulee got within eight points of Stanton at the 2:30 mark, but the Blue Devils answered. Senior point guard Colby Cummings made a free throw to complete a three-point play and Womack hit three late free throws to help close out the game.

“We played a good game all around. Everytime we win, it’s a team win,” said Womack.

Stanton’s last winning record game in the 2014-2015 season, when the Blue Devils went 11-10. Several upperclassmen remember recent seasons in which Stanton has fallen far short of the .500 mark.

“[A winning season] is a beautiful thing, especially because I was here when we almost didn’t win any two years ago,” said senior forward Wassun Augustine, who was a sophomore when the 2017-2018 Blue Devils went 1-18.

Junior shooting guard Ro Vemuri echoed Augustine’s thoughts.

“It’s big to get to this point. We’re going to have a winning record and It’s pretty dope to see all the work we put in and the result we’re getting out of it,” said Vemuri.

Yulee falls to 5-18 on the year, while Stanton gets to 12-9 and has won six of their last seven. The Blue Devils move on to a Feb. 4 game at Episcopal School of Jacksonville before wrapping up their season with senior night against Parsons Christian's Academy on Feb. 6.

Stanton Defeats Yulee, Secures First Winning Season In Five Years

By FABRIZIO GOWDY | Feb. 4, 2020 | Sports