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Knock On Wood: Classic Rally Lifts King

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By SCOTT PURKS, Tribune correspondent

Published: January 6, 2008

TAMPA - King's 6-foot-7 Toarlyn Fitzpatrick had the ball in the post with 14 seconds remaining, trailing Land O' Lakes 45-44.

Three Gators smothered Fitzpatrick.

King's 5-foot-9 guard, John Wood, prayed Fitzpatrick would dish it to him.

He did.
Three feet beyond the 3-point line, Wood received the pass and ...

"As soon as it left my hand I knew it was in," Wood said. "It felt perfect."

It was.

The ball ripped the bottom of the net.

Seconds later, King's Dontell Polite stole an inbounds pass, and seconds after that, after the Lions' Jamal Willingham sank a free throw, King had sealed a win in the Alonso Holiday Classic final, 48-45.

"It was the best feeling I've ever had playing basketball," said Wood, who shoots hundreds of 3-pointers every day during lunch and P.E. "I've waited my whole life for that chance to take that shot. It's even better that our star player Fitzpatrick had enough confidence to pass it to me."

What also helped it feel great was the fact King (8-3) came back from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit, the second time in three days the Lions have come back to win after trailing by double digits in the final quarter.

"Believe me," King coach Sam Lanier said, "we didn't plan it that way. To be honest I thought Land O'Lakes was in control, but then, well, we made some adjustments and we never stopped fighting, and good things started happening."

Land O' Lakes coach Dave Puhalski said his team's downfall came down to two things: "We didn't take care of the ball in the closing minutes and we didn't shoot well from the foul line."

To be exact, the Gators (13-3) turned the ball over three times and were only 2-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 1:30.

In the end, Fitzpatrick, who scored a game-high 23 points, was named the tournament's most valuable player, and King left the gym with a serious boost in confidence.

"Sometimes kids lose some confidence in games," Lanier said. "When we got down they may have been doubting themselves a little. But the great thing is that they never stopped fighting. We preach go hard for 32 minutes and that's just what they did."

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