A roundup of Manatee and Sarasota high school events played the week of Dec. 29, 2025, to Jan. 3, 2026.
TUESDAY
Boys Basketball
Riverview Ram Jam
The Covington Catholic Colonels (10-1) completed their three-day basketball clinic with a 75-39 victory over Venice High (7-7) to win the annual Ram Jam Classic for the second year in a row.
The perennial powerhouse from Park Hills, Ky., won all three of its tournament games with a running clock under the 35-point mercy rule. Their victims included the Manatee Hurricanes in the first round and the Booker Tornadoes in Monday’s semifinals.
No one even came close to knocking the Colonels off stride on their way to the title.
“The thing I care about the most is that we always play hard,” Covington Catholic head coach Jake Thelen said. “We defend, we rebound.
“All the kids love being around each other. They’re all best friends off the court. If somebody is having an off game, somebody else picks them up.
“We’re lucky. But we work at it and have some really good players.
Venice head coach Luke Davis viewed the game as a great opportunity.
“We just wanted our effort to match theirs,” Davis said. “You notice they come into the gym and they’re yelling and screaming. We wanted to be on that level or higher.
“They’re talented and a great team. They work very hard. I think it makes us better to play a team like that. We’ll take this. We’ll learn from this.”
Covington Catholic held a 22-6 lead by the end of the first quarter. Venice closed the gap to 35-20 with 2:35 remaining in the first half, but never got any closer.
“We still think we are nowhere near our ceiling or our peak,” Davis said. “We’re going to keep working to try to get better.”
Colton Lynch and Malakai Strauss shared game-high honors for Venice with 10 points apiece.
Donovan Bradshaw led a well-balanced scoring attack for the Colonels with 15 points. Braeden Myrick added 14 points and guards Cash Harney and Athens McGillis each scored 12 points.
Harney was named the Ram Jam’s Most Valuable Player. McGillis earned the same honor at last year’s tournament.
Riverview 75, Booker 63: The tournament host bounced back big time following a disappointing loss to Venice in the semifinals on Monday night to take third place.
“It was a good win,” Rams head coach Jeff Harris said. “It really sets the tone for going the rest of the way.
“It’s still a shiny trophy. It’s not as big as the championship one, but we’re going to enjoy it.”
Josh Harris and Carter Evans shared team-high honors for the Rams (10-5) with 19 points apiece. Cooper Hamilton and Noah Chieffo were also in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
“I’m really happy we played with a lot of energy the whole game,” Jeff Harris said. “They could have very easily just mailed this one in with the hangover from last night.”
Booker senior J.P. Lattimore paced the Tornadoes (7-7), as he did throughout the tournament, with 23 points.
Also on Tuesday, Tampa Gaither staged a fourth-quarter rally to slip past Lithia Newsome, 52-50, for fifth place. After only scoring a total of 53 points in their first two tournament games, the Manatee Hurricanes rolled past Tampa Wharton, 75-63, to earn seventh place.
OTHER GAMES
Sarasota Christian 72, Cambridge Christian 46: In the Sarasota Christian Holiday Classic consolation game, Cale Zeltwanger led the Blazers with 22 points, Drew Sirianni had 15, and Noah Spenn added 12.
Girls Basketball
Victory Christian Academy 44, Sarasota Christian 35: The Blazers grabbed their first lead in the fourth quarter. The Storm came right back with some major baskets down the stretch. The Blazers were led by Brenda Bresciani’s 17 points, Nikki Olupitan’s 9 points, and Jada Gibson with 5 points.
MONDAY
Boys Basketball
Riverview Ram Jam
SARASOTA – Venice High jumped out to a 27-9 lead on Monday night and then had to stave off a furious fourth-quarter rally by the host Riverview Rams to hold on to a 61-57 victory over the Rams in the semifinal round of the 16th annual Ram Jam Classic.
The game was in stark contrast to the first time the two teams met this season on Dec. 2 when the Rams (9-5) prevailed, 87-62.
“In that first game against them, we also started well, and just kind of ran out of gas,” Venice head coach Luke Davis said. “So we had to make sure that we got in shape. We needed to be consistent for an entire game.
“We’re much more of a complete team now. I love the way we work and share the ball.”
Sophomore Peter Palao paved the way for the Venice offense, scoring a team-high 23 points. He got plenty of help from his teammates, like junior Pierce Weber with 13 points and senior Giulio, also in double figures with 10.
“That’s been our trend all year,” Davis said. “It’s hard to scout us because you don’t know who is going to go off on a certain night.
“We want to peak in February. We’re definitely headed in the right direction.”
Junior Carter Evans, who posted a game-high 26 points, led the Riverview fourth-quarter comeback that came up short. Josh Harris was also in double figures for Riverview with 15 points.
Riverview head coach Jeff Harris was succinct when asked what the difference was in the game.
“Free throws,” he said. “When you miss 18 free throws, you’re not going to win games. Making free throws is just about concentration, and it’s something you must do.
“We didn’t make plays when we needed to. Give Venice credit. They made shots and held onto the ball.”
Venice (7-6) will now face powerful Covington Catholic High in Tuesday’s tournament championship game, scheduled for 7:45 p.m. The Colonels (9-1) also made the long trip from Park Hills, Ky., to Sarasota last season and won the Ram Jam Classic.
“We’ve got a great opportunity to play the No. 1 team in Kentucky, so let’s go for it,” Davis said.
Covington Catholic 92, Booker 55: The Colonels looked ready, willing, and able to repeat as tournament champions as they tamed the Tornadoes (7-6) in their semifinal game.
Junior Braeden Myrick was lights-out shooting from the perimeter, leading the Colonels with 31 points, including four 3-point goals.
Senior Cash Harney scored 20 points, and Athens McGillis, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player last year, added 18.
The Colonels drubbed Manatee High, 100-32, in their first-round tournament game, while Booker made it to the semifinals by squeezing past Tampa Gaither, 47-45.
Despite the lopsided loss, senior J.P. Lattimore turned in an outstanding performance for Booker, taking game-high honors with 30 points. Senior Darius Behn contributed 11 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, for the Tornadoes.
Booker will face Riverview on Tuesday in a game slated for 5:45 p.m. that will determine who finishes third in the tournament.
In losers’ bracket games on Monday, Gaither beat Manatee, 60-21, and Lithia Newsome rolled past Tampa Wharton, 79-34.
Manatee is scheduled to play Wharton for 7th place on Tuesday at 3 p.m. That game will be followed by Gaither and Newsome, who will play for fifth place at 4:30 p.m.
Other Area Games
All Saints Academy 53, Sarasota Christian 45: The Blades dropped their semifinal game of the Sarasota Christian Holiday Classic. Drew Sirianni led Sarasora Christian with 12 points, Travis Miller had 11 and Justin Brock 10.
Meadowbrook Academy defeated Cambridge Christian, 63-54, in the other semifinal. On Tuesday, Sarasota Christian vs. Cambridge Christian, 5:30 PM and All Saints Academy vs. Meadowbrook Academy at 7 p.m. in the Championship Game.
Bullis 52, Cardinal Mooney 50: The Cougars (11-1) dropped their first game of the season. Jamaal George led Mooney with 13, and Malkai Cuffy added 12.
Girls Basketball
Sarasota Christian 46, Tampa Prep 25: The Lady Blazers (6-2) picked up their sixth victory with a defensive display of intensity. They held Tampa Prep to 9 points through three quarters. Sarasota Christian was led defensively by Nikki Olupitan with several steals and continuously had her hands on Tampa Prep’s passes. Offensively, the Blazers were led by Brenda Bresciani’s 23 points, Grace Gallo’s 14 points, including her Blazers career high of three 3-pointers, Nikki Olupitan with 7 points, and Chloe Cooper added 2 points.
Sarasota Christian will play Victory Christian Academy in the Holiday Classic Championship at 4 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Manatee and Sarasota high school results for Dec. 29 to Jan. 3
Reporting by Ed Reed, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
