- January 26, 2025
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Matanzas center Alex Davis (0) plays defense against FPC's Nateshawn Royal. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas' Jackson Lowitz takes a 3-point shot from the corner. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Nateshawn Royal (2) and Jasiah Sanders (1) guard Matanzas' Nate Perry. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's R.J. Watson puts up a shot in the paint after grabbing an offensive rebound. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas' Alex Davis (0) puts up a shot. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Roman Caliendo and Devin Mahler (5) double-team Alex Davis in the post. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's R.J. Watson secures a rebound in front of Matanzas' Alex Davis. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas coach Eric Guerrero (center) looks up at the scoreboard heading into a timeout. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas' Jezahiah McCoy dribbles past Roman Caliendo. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas' LaDarien Baker drives to the basket. Photo by Brent Woronoff
FPC's Zac Murphy handles the ball. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas boys basketball coach Eric Guerrero says Nate Perry and Alex Davis are his Penny Hardaway and Shaquille O’Neal.
The Pirates’ duo weren’t even born when Penny and Shaq were a providing a lethal inside-out combination for the Orlando Magic in the 1990s. But just like the former Magic guard and center, they are proving to be a lethal combination in their own right.
Perry scored 20 points with a pair of 3-pointers, while the 6-foot-8 Davis scored 12 points, pulled down 20 rebounds and blocked six shots in the Pirates’ 53-36 victory over Flagler Palm Coast on Jan. 23 at the Bulldogs’ gym.
“Those two on the floor working together are really hard for the other teams to stop,” Guerrero said.
Matanzas led 34-29 after three quarters and then outscored FPC 19-7 in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Perry scored eight of his points in the final quarter.
The victory avenged FPC’s 56-48 win against Matanzas on Dec. 13 at the Pirates' gym.
“They did a good job of rebounding, and Nate Perry played extremely well,” FPC coach Greg Shirley said. “We are two talented teams. Flagler County should be very proud of both teams.”
Both teams are playing well heading into the season's final stretch.
The Bulldogs had their Senior Night the following day and rebounded with a 71-67 victory over Jacksonville Westside to improve to 13-9 on the season. FPC honored seniors R.J. Watson and Roman Caliendo. The win was the Bulldogs’ seventh in nine games heading into the Five Star Conference tournament. Fifth-seeded FPC will visit No.4 DeLand in a quarterfinal at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27.
I feel like we can win the district title and put (the banner) on the wall at our school.
— ALEX DAVIS, Matanzas center
Matanzas improved to 11-8 with the win against FPC. The Pirates have won six of their last seven games.
“Coming into the game I knew we had to do the little things,” Guerrero said. “I told the boys, the mindset is like a playoff atmosphere. Don’t get out of your heads, stay focused. And they produced. I’m really proud of them.”
La’Darien Baker added eight points and nine rebounds for the Pirates. Nateshawn Royal led the Bulldogs with 12 points. FPC struggled at the free throw line, hitting just 4 of 14 shots.
“The crowd really fired everybody up,” Davis said. “I just loved the intensity of the game. We’ve been looking forward to this game for a while, but we just haven’t been doing all the back and forth on the internet. We were ready to play a friendly, rivalry game and just come to win.”
Guerrero said the junior center, who missed the first part of the two previous seasons, is beginning to take a leadership role.
“Alex is maturing so much,” Guerrero said. “He’s getting this full year of basketball in, and he’s averaging 20 points a game with two, three people (guarding) him. He’s being patient, he’s being disciplined and he’s working really hard.”
Davis said the team is aiming for a district championship.
"I feel like we can win the district title and put (the banner) on the wall at our school,” he said. “I think we're pretty good this year. I think we're going to win it.”
