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Pinellas Park Holds Off Plant's Late Comeback Bid

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By LEE DIEKEMPER, Tribune correspondent

Published: February 20, 2008

PINELLAS PARK - Despite a bad first half in which the Panthers trailed by 19 to Pinellas Park at halftime, Plant rallied to pull within three points with 17 seconds left in the game.

But the Panthers had dug too deep of a hole, and the Patriots sank a couple of critical free throws and pulled down the crucial rebounds in the final seconds for a 67-61 win in the Class 5A-Region 3 semifinal.

The victory puts Pinellas Park in its first region final game in 17 years. Pinellas Park will host Lakewood on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the Class 5A state semifinals Feb. 27 at The Lakeland Center.

The Panthers (25-5) turned the game around in the second half by attacking Pinellas Park's interior defense.

As a result, the Patriots (27-4) began racking up fouls. Pinellas Park coach Allen Carden then had to rotate many of his players in and off the bench, and the Panthers took advantage.

"That was the whole thing, we didn't go at them in the first half," Plant coach Mike Phillips said. "We were shooting jump shots from the outside instead of going to the rim. I told them at halftime, 'We have to go to the rim.'

"I knew we had some runs in us. Pinellas Park was as hot as it could be in that first half. It's hard to come back. You make runs and you make runs, and sooner or later you run out of gas."

A pair of Kevin James free throws pulled the Panthers within four at 56-52. The Panthers missed two opportunities to narrow the gap to two points when, after Michal Givens nailed a 3-pointer, Pinellas Park turned the ball over on the ensuing possession with 37 seconds left while holding a 63-59 lead.

"It seemed like they had the momentum," Pinellas Park's Jacob Troyli said. "We were getting fouls called on us. "

"It's always easier coming back, because you play not to lose," Carden said.

But Plant's shot to pull within two missed and was pulled down by Troyli. Later, Cory Carden was fouled but missed the free throw. Troyli again would come down with a key defensive rebound.

"It was an exciting comeback," Cooley said. "We tried are hardest to come back. We had enough in the tank. We just fell a little short."

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