Bench experience

MOUNT DORA — A game is a game.

That seemed to be the approach taken by the Mount Dora Christian Academy boys basketball team in Tuesday’s game against Tampa American Youth Academy at Brackett Gymnasium.

It took only a couple of minutes of floor time to realize the Bulldogs were far superior to the Eagles, who were playing in their first game of the season. Still, MDCA turned the blowout into an opportunity to get every player on the roster a chance to get significant playing time.

Taylor Trudeau poured in 23 points and Joseph Martz scored 17, both in little more than two quarters, to power the Bulldogs to a 71-28 win against AYA. A running clock was used from the 6:27 mark of the third quarter.

“We played hard,” said MDCA assistant coach Ron Devlin, who was sitting in for head coach Steven Hayes, who missed the game due to an illness. It was just the second game Hayes has missed in his long coaching career at MDCA. “That never changes. We play hard all the time. In a game like this, you try to get everyone in the game and give them a chance to get better.”

With the exception of 30-second span to start the game, MDCA led from start to finish. The starting five, which included Trudeau and Martz, executed the Bulldogs’ perimeter-based attack to perfection and quickly built a double-digit advantage.

MDCA, which improved to 5-2, led by 19 after the first quarter and took a 52-21 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

Devlin, as expected, substituted freely in the first half. When Martz drained a 3-pointer to give MDCA a 58-21 to start a running clock, he promptly emptied his bench.

It gave him plenty of time to look at players he might not normally see except in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.

And he was pleased with what he saw.

“Two guys that really stood out for us was Daniel Cawthon and Hunter Robinson,” Devlin said. “We put them in situations we normally wouldn’t and I thought they handled things really well. It was a situation where I think just being out there and competing helped them get better.”

In addition to Trudeau and Martz, Henrik Hofman scored 10 points, Edwin Chatman added seven and Caio Palmieri Seif dropped in five.

For AYA (0-1), Yousef Ahmad scored 19 and Osama Gurwula added six. Yoohas Khan scored three.

The game was a late replacement for the Bulldogs, who were originally scheduled to play Lake Mary Prep on Tuesday. However, scheduling issues arose between the teams and Lake Mary Prep was unable to play.

Hayes made a few telephone calls and was able to schedule AYA, which only recently joined the Florida High School Athletic Association. Founded in 2004, AYA is an Islamic school based in Tampa.

Next up for MDCA will be its annual Cletus Stutzman Christmas Tournament Friday and Saturday. All games will be played on the Jack McDonald Court at Brackett Gymnasium.