The Mariner Tritons looked like they were going to blow away the Venice Indians in the early stages, but it didn’t quite play out that way after the first quarter Tuesday night.

After the Tritons

opened a quick eight-point lead (10-2), the Indians kept chipping away and took their first lead 22-20 four minutes before halftime. The Tritons fought back and finally took charge in the fourth quarter to register a 55-41 victory in the semifinals of Mariner’s Holiday Invitational Tournament.

The Tritons (8-1) outscored the Indians 16-6 in the final quarter to seal the win, which sends them to the championship game Wednesday against the Charlotte Tarpons.

Charlotte (8-1) got to the final game by downing East Lee County 57-46 in the other semifinal tilt. Earlier, in consolation bracket games Island Coast knocked off North Fort Myers 67-52 and Dunbar drubbed Estero 66-25.

North takes on Estero at 2:15 p.m. Wednesday in the seventh-place game while Island Coast meets Dunbar at 4 p.m. for fifth place. East Lee and Venice go at it at 5:45 for the third-place trophy before the Tritons and Tarpons tip off in the title game at 7:30.

The Tritons found themselves handcuffed in the first half when senior Sam Guerrier was tagged with his third personal foul driving into a crowd of defenders in the lane. He went to the bench with just three points. He didn’t get untracked until the decisive fourth-quarter run during which he contributed six points.

“Venice did a good job of making us play at their tempo,” said Tritons coach James Harris. “When Sam got his third foul I knew we would have to play the slower tempo. Of course, we prefer not to play slow.”

Luke Stamps hit 4-of-11 three-point shots to finish with a team-high 12 points. Nick Marrero added 11 and Justin Emmons had 10.

“Our defense helped us pull away in the fourth quarter and we forced them into some shots they were not comfortable taking,” said Harris. “Teams in the semifinals will make you feel uncomfortable a lot of the time, and it’s ugly. This game was a good representation of what we can expect for the district tournament.”

The Tritons face a tough test from the Tarpons in the championship game.

Venice 11 16 8 6 – 41

Mariner 15 12 12 16 – 55

VENICE 41 – Hann 6, Voigt 9, McCumber 5, Fierlage 9, Smither 12. Totals: 15 5-5 41.

3PG: Hann 2, McCumber 1, Fierlage 1, Smither 2.

MARINER 55 – Stamps 12, Bender 7, Marrero 11, Minto 4, Guerrier 9, Ferrara 2, Emmons 10. Totals: 21 6-12 55.

3PG: Stamps 4, Bender 1, Marrero 1, Guerrier 1.

Island Coast 67, North Fort Myers 52: Island Coast broke out on top with a 20-6 first-quarter lead and kept stretching its lead to as much as 27 points with two minutes remaining to beat North Fort Myers.

Junior Tim Dal Bon poured in a career-high 30 points, including five three-pointers, to lead the Gators. Terrell Griffin grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds as the Gators dominated North on the boards 50-28. Patrique Chery added 13 points and six assists.

The Gators (7-5) take on Dunbar for fifth place Wednesday.

Island Coast 20 17 10 20 – 67

North Fort Myers 6 14 12 20 – 52

ISLAND COAST 67 – Chery 13, Francois 2, Dal Bon 30, Griffin 5, Harding 3, Orellana 1, Rees 9, Morris 3. Totals: 25 9-17 67.

3PG: Chery 1, Dal Bon 5, Harding 1, Rees 1.

NORTH 52 – Maliase 8, Makar 4, Mercado 3, Beerbower 7, Vega 7, Lapaugh 6, Crowell 6, Feliz 4, Merritt 2, Santiago 5. Totals: 19 9-17 52.

3PG: Malaise 2, Beerbower 1, Vega 2.

Girls Basketball

Mariner 30, Olympic Heights 29: Mariner bounced back from a first-round shellacking to clip Olympic Heights in the consolation bracket of the Ely Holiday Classic.

The Tritons trailed by one point with eight seconds remaining when Kyla Taylor stepped to the free throw line and hit two free throws to seal the victory. Taylor finished with eight points, second-most to Carrie Griffin’s 12 points.

The Tritons (3-14) play for fifth place at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

Mariner 5 9 10 6 – 30

Olympic Heights 4 6 10 9 – 29

MARINER 30 – Mo. Bono 3, Ma. Bono 6, Taylor 8, Metcalf 1, Griffin 12. totals: 8 14-22 30.

3PG: none.

OLYMPIC HEIGHTS 29 – Kalen 4, Miller 2, Agosto 2, Dowdell 6, Matlack 6, Farese 9. Totals: 13 0-2 29.

3PG: Farese 3.

Estero 48, Ida Baker 41: Amber Huther pitched in a game-high 16 points to lead Estero’s come-from-behind victory over Ida Baker in the semifinals of the Wellington Holiday Classic.

Baker, which led 26-22 at the half, was outscored in the third and fourth quarters as the Wildcats forced the Bulldogs into 13 turnovers during that span.

Jessey Placher and Hannah Del Negro tallied 12 points apiece for the Bulldogs (8-7), who play for third place at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Ida Baker 12 14 5 10 – 41

Estero 9 13 14 12 – 48

BAKER 41 – Nicloy 4, Emmons 9, Placher 12, Del Negro 12, Brown 2, Ramsey 2. Totals: 14 8-11 41.

3PG: Placher 3, Del Negro 2.

ESTERO 48 – Libby 2, C. Campbell 7, Huther 16, S. Campbell 6, M. Rismay 6, Wagner 2, F. Rismay 9. Totals: 19 9-21 48.

3PG: F. Rismay 1.

Island Coast 40, Evangelical Christian 36: Khristian Mims scored all five of her points in overtime, including 3-of-4 at the free throw line, to help lift Island Coast to a double-overtime victory over Evangelical Christian in the championship game of the Canterbury Holiday Tournament.

The Gators trailed at halftime, but made a strong comeback in the third quarter. Loresha Blackman and Helynn Young collided going for a ball that resulted in a head injury for Blackman that required a trip to the hospital. Blackman, Young and Mary Mahone contributed 10 points and eight rebounds apiece toward the victory.

After the collision the teams played even, though the Gators had a chance to win it in regulation with a final shot that missed. The Gators put it away at the free throw line in the second overtime.

The Gators (9-4) face First Baptist on Dec. 29 in the first round of another holiday tournament at First Baptist.

Island Coast 7 12 9 4 8 – 40

Evang. Christian 10 14 4 4 4 – 36

ISLAND COAST 40 – Boyd 2, Blackman 10, Young 10, Mims 5, Mahone 10, Ortiz 3. Totals: 15 9-17 40.

3PG: Ortiz 1.

ECS 36 – Candiano 2, Simeone 2, Cassidy 14, Banks 5, Berquist 11. Totals: 17 1-11 36.

3PG: Banks 1.

Boys Soccer

Mariner 1, Barron Collier 1: Juan Rincon’s goal from the left side of the penalty box midway through the first half wound up earning Mariner a tie with Barron Collier Tuesday in the first round of the Southwest Florida Winter Invitational at Golden Gate.

Nelson Garcia assisted on Rincon’s goal, which countered a goal by Collier just seven minutes into the match. The teams played even thereafter with goalkeeper Matt Brust making a total of four saves.

“We had a couple of good looks in the second half, but it was one of those things that we couldn’t get one to go in the net,” said Tritons coach Martin Cardenas.

Patrick Lewis, Justin Kuchle, and Josh and John Teeter were cited for outstanding defensive play for the Tritons (15-5-1), who face Naples at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.