Justin Fitzgerald, Pensacola News JournalTue, November 25, 2025 at 5:37 AM UTC·8 min readBasketball is back in the Pensacola area.
Eight Escambia County teams as well Rocky Bayou Christian, Niceville, St. Michael Catholic, Alabama and Mosley took the court at Pensacola Catholic on Monday for the EscaRosa Thanksgiving Basketball Invitational. Every team will be in action on Tuesday.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHere are takeaways for area squads from day one.
West Florida off to hot start, still looking to get better
The Jaguars are 4-0 for the second time in three years. In 2023-24, the Jaguars started 4-0 and played for the District 1-4A championship.
“We’re a young team,” West Florida head coach Phillip Childers said. “I only got three seniors this year, couple juniors, couple sophomores. We’re a young team, but we’re feisty, we’re big, we’re fast. We just gotta be able to finish in the fourth quarter.”
Struggling in the fourth quarter is helping Childers keep his team humble. In a win 63-48 win over Altheia Christian, the Lions got within 12 in the fourth quarter after West Florida led 35-14 at halftime.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut the Jaguars athleticism and versatility was too much. Senior wing Frank Likely finished with 19 points and sophomore Zay Young cleaned up down low to also finish in double figures with 15.
“When it comes to the fourth quarter, we have to up our communication on defense,” Childers said. “Make sure our switches are in control, which scheme are we in and who’s in control and who’s directing traffic.”
The Jaguars will be tested after Thanksgving break with back-to-back home games against Booker T. Washington on Dec. 3 and Tate on Dec. 4.
Escambia learning how to finish
After a 77-49 season opening loss to Booker T. Washington, the Gators have played three close games but haven't figured out how to close the door.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn a 51-42 loss to Rocky Bayou Christian, Escambia (0-4) went on a 17-1 across the second and third quarter to take a 28-19 lead. Then the Knights made the plays late, closing the game on a 14-4 run.
“For the most part we’ve been in games,” Welch said. “Just haven’t learned to finish yet.”
Welch, who is in his first year as a head coach, wants Escambia to play up-tempo and wear teams out. The Gators got a spark from their press during their surge against Rocky Bayou, but struggled in halfcourt sets and didn’t take enough advantage of their size mismatch down low.
6-foot-5 junior Tobias Johnson and 6’4 senior Luterian Williams both scored 11 points to lead Escambia. McCabe Olin scored a game-high 16 and Calix McCune 15 to lead Rocky Bayou.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPine Forest looking to play complete game
Eagles head coach Kevin Barona has seen it in spurts from his young squad in their first four games. Glimpses of potential, though not enough to get in the win column.
“We’re playing a quarter, we’re playing a half,” Barona said. “We haven’t gotten to the point where we can play for 32 minutes and that’s where we gotta get to in order to get our first win.”
Pine Forest (0-4) led 28-27 at halftime of a 55-44 loss to Niceville before going cold in the third quarter. The Eagles didn’t make a shot from the field, scoring all three points in the frame at the foul line.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPine Forest is starting a freshman and playing a couple sophomores too, Barona said. That youth means the Eagles are still learning how to work through tough moments.
“Even when things go wrong, you gotta stay positive,” Barona said. “You gotta learn how to move onto the next play and I think that’s what we gotta improve on.”
Pensacola trying to play to a standard
Tigers first-year head coach DJ Williams stole his mantra for this year from Nick Saban. He wants Pensacola to play to “a standard.”
“I heard him say one time, you never play to the score, you play to the standard,” Williams said. “That’s something that I was trying to get to get to the guys. Don’t get lazy, don’t get lackadaisical, there’s still a standard and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe goal is to play the same way, no matter the opponent or the circumstances. Doesn’t matter if it’s a 65-63 win against Crestview on Nov. 21, or a 46-21 win over St. Michael Catholic, Alabama on Monday, a team shorthanded due to having several players still playing on the school’s football team.
Williams, who graduated from PHS in 2004 and played under his dad, David Williams, doesn’t want this group to get comfortable.
He wants to take a step forward after a disappointing 5-15 campaign a year ago. Pensacola (3-1) has won three straight games after starting the season with a 64-46 loss to Milton on Nov. 18.
“They never say die,” DJ Williams said. “Even when we lost to Milton Tuesday, we played to the end. These kids are battled tested and they fight to the end.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBooker T. gets early taste of district action
The Wildcats (3-0) have already seen two District 1-5A foes in their first three games.
They won 61-59 at Choctawhatchee on Nov. 22 in a rematch of last year’s District 1-5A title game, then wore down Mosley 71-48 on Monday.
“We definitely wanted to see where we stand in our district,” Booker T. head coach Dwayne Louis said. “Early game, we don’t get a chance to play those guys, don’t get a chance to see them because they are so far away and I’m pretty sure they feel the same way. I thought our guys handled it very, very well.”
The Wildcats never trailed and led 30-19 at halftime before leading by as many as 26 points in the second half.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBooker T. played with relentless energy on both ends, always looking to attack and create on offense and crash the glass for second chance opportunities, while pressing and playing tight defense on the other end.
Zavier Starks finished with a game-high 20 points, while Adam Griffin added 14 and Jaden Clardy 11.
The Wildcats return most of the core that won a district title last year, including their top three scorers. Now a year older, they spent the summer playing together to try to take things to the next level.
“Last year those guys were learning how to play with intensity,” Louis said. “Over the summer everybody took it upon themselves to get stronger, get faster to get a better IQ of what is it going to take to play fast and play with the intensity that we’re trying to play with.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCalderon, Cooper a dynamic duo for Tate
With about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Aggies senior Kade Calderon stole a pass and streaked down court. As he sprinted into the left side of the lane he passed the ball up ahead to fellow senior Marcus Cooper, who slammed it home for an alley-oop.
The duo put on a show in an 82-64 win over Pensacola Catholic, with Calderon, a Pine Forest transfer, scoring a game-high 29 points and Cooper adding 24. The two seniors have been leaders for Tate (3-1) so far, as six returners from a year ago and six new players are still trying to find themselves as a group.
“They’re bringing a lot of leadership and a lot of experience is what we need right now,” Aggies head coach Clyde Abney said. “Kade is coming in from Pine Forest and he’s just a leader. He talks to the guys and tells them what they need to do and what they need to hear, good or bad….And Marcus, being that guy that he was last year…he’s really leading us and helping us get to where we need to be.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe pair lead a team with plenty of athleticism that likes to play fast. Tate is trying to consistently play to its potential, with some mixed results so far. Abney said his group missed 16 free throws in a 69-66 loss to Pensacola on Nov. 20, then won the next night against Baker, Alabama, who Abney estimates hit 15 three-pointers.
“We want to be up and down," Abney said. "We want to be press and we want to have fun. You come to Tate, it’s not going to be boring. We want to play some defense, but it’s not going to be boring.”
Catholic scheduling tough for a reason
The Crusaders (2-1) scheduled the two best teams at the event to know exactly what to improve early in the season before the games really start to matter.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“We want to be exposed and we want our weaknesses to be exposed,” Catholic head coach Mike Dimick said. “Because we want to get better at those. We don’t want to accidentally beat teams and think that we’re better than we are.”
The Crusaders struggled with transition defense against Tate, something Dimick thought was a strength going into the game. The Aggies had better athletes and continued to get up and down the floor, never leading by less than 11 points starting with the final two minutes of the second quarter.
Sam Quebedeaux finished with a team-high 17 points, while Camron Bell added 11.
“That was our message at halftime,” Dimick said. “You gave up 38 points. 27 of them were in transition buckets, so can we stop that in the second half? That was our goal and I think we did poorly.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: EscaRosa Rosa Thanksgiving Basketball Invitational Takeaways
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