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Pasco's Defense Clamps Down On Hudson

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By EDDIE DANIELS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 10, 2008

Updated: 02/10/2008 12:01 am

DADE CITY - At the start of the season, Pasco ran up a 9-3 record, at one point stringing together a six-game winning streak.

From the outside in, it sounded nice, but Pirates coach Poncho Broner wasn't happy, telling his group they may have been 9-3, but they weren't that great.

"I told those guys we're 9-3 and we've been all offense; we hadn't played any defense," he said. "And that really concerned me, and I knew getting to a district championship we were going to have to start playing some defense."

That defense clamped down on Hudson to give the Pirates a 60-48 victory and the Class 4A-District 8 title Saturday night at the Dr. Donald McBath Activity Center.

This is the eighth district title for the Pirates (20-7), winners of 10 of their past 11.

The first portion of the game was more an exercise for the officials than for either team. Pasco was hit with 12 fouls in the first two quarters, and Hudson made them pay. The Cobras (15-13) hit 10 of 12 free throws and entered the locker room down 25-23 at the half.

They were led by Jarod Branco's 20-point effort and the three 3-pointers added by Tyler Hooten.

A stingy Pirates defense, which forced Hudson into streaky shooting, coupled with the shooting of T.J. Bryant, who finished with 32 points, was enough to build distance between the teams.

"You're upset you lost, but I mean, come on," Hudson coach Jason Vetter said. "These kids have made history, they've laid the foundation for our program. We're only going to get better. Like I said Friday night, these seniors were 0-10 in middle school and 6-34 on JV. They've just gotten better and better. They've worked hard, and we're going to keep doing it. I don't know if we'll get Eustis on Thursday, but they better get ready because we're coming."

Reporter Eddie Daniels can be reached at (813) 948-4214 or edaniels@tampatrib.com.

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