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Plummer's Prayer Answered In Win

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By SCOTT PURKS, Tribune correspondent

Published: January 12, 2008

TAMPA - The odds of this were slim: three consecutive games won or lost on the final shot.

But there was Chamberlain's Mike Plummer, in the corner, the ball passed to his hands, the final seconds ticking, ticking down ... 3, 2, 1 ... a Middleton guard in his face, Plummer letting the ball fly and ...

"Praying that it went in," he said.

It did, sealing a 66-63 victory against the Tigers.

"Finally!" he said. "The last two games the final shot beat us. I didn't want to feel that feeling again."

It was an ending to a key Class 5A-District 10 game that was well-played and hard-fought, and left Middleton coach Derek Smith disappointed but not downtrodden.

"I feel like we did everything we could right down to the last shot," Smith said. "During the timeout which Chamberlain called with nine seconds remaining, I told our guys not to foul but to tighten up. I didn't want to see Plummer with the ball, and when I did, well, all I could do was watch and hope."

Chamberlain coach Doug Aplin admitted the play wasn't executed exactly like it was drawn. "But," he said, "it worked out OK. Sometimes that's the way it goes."

For most of the game, Chamberlain (10-4, 7-2) was in control, holding leads of 10 points in the first half and as many as 13 late in the third quarter. Trouble was Middleton, largely led by guard Alphonso Sheppard (21 points) and forward Jay Bowie (22 points), not only kept coming back, but also erased both aforementioned leads.

On the flip side, the trouble for Middleton (12-5, 7-3) was that Chamberlain, led by Plummer (game-high 25 points, including six 3-pointers), jumped right back with buckets each time Middleton took the lead.

"It truly could have come down to either team making that last shot," Aplin said. "Fortunately tonight we made it. And you know, we can use it after losing on the last shot the two previous games."

WESLEY CHAPEL 72, LAND O' LAKES 71: Ladarius Manora wasn't sure if he was going to get the ball on Wesley Chapel's last chance, but there were few others who would have made sense when he had the hottest hands of the game.

Seconds before the final buzzer, Manora took a shot from just inside the 3-point line that dropped for the winning basket.

Manora led the Wildcats (15-3) with 30 points. He was 9-for-9 from the free-throw line, including five with less than two minutes left.

"We were supposed to run a play to our big man, Michael Koesling, but that got messed up," Manora said. "So we went around and Greg Jenkins got it on top and usually he'll take it and shoot a 3, but he kicked it to me so I gotta do what I gotta do - game-winning basket."

The game was tied for most of the first half until Jenkins sank a 3-pointer, then had three consecutive steals and fast-break baskets to put Wesley Chapel up 36-27 with three minutes remaining in the half.

The Gators (15-4) stormed back to start the second half and tied the game at 42 late in the third quarter. The teams continued to trade the lead, and P.J. Potts' 3-pointer put the Gators up 71-70 with just more than a minute left in the game.
Wesley Chapel had two failed attempts to score on the ensuing possession. The Gators regained the ball and tried to run down the clock, but the Wildcats fouled and Land O' Lakes missed the free throw, setting up Manora's winning shot.

Cristina Ledra

PINELLAS PARK, 73, LARGO 68: Pinellas Park held Largo to a lone basket for the first 3:59 of overtime and remained undefeated against Pinellas County teams.

The win marked the first time in 17 years that Pinellas Park (17-2) beat Largo (11-5) twice in the regular season. The last time that happened was in 1991, when current Largo coach Phil Price was a Pinellas Park assistant.

Cam Carden hit three of four free-throw attempts in overtime, and Jacob Troyli's 3-point play with 2:24 remaining put Pinellas Park up for good.

The final minutes of regulation had a lot of twists. Largo's Khan Armstrong hit a 3-point basket, one of six in the quarter for the Packers, for a 60-52 lead with 3:22 left. But Pinellas Park rallied by scoring nine unanswered points, capped by a Mark Jessurum rebound bucket for a 61-60 lead with 57 seconds remaining.

Two free throws by Troyli with 16 seconds left put the Patriots up 63-60, but Armstrong's 3-pointer at the buzzer forced overtime.

Lee Diekemper

Girls Basketball

LAND O' LAKES 42, GULF 33: Kayli Keough scored half of her team's points, leading the Gators to a Sunshine Athletic Conference victory.

In addition to her 21 points, Keough had six rebounds and three steals. The Florida State signee scored nine of the Gators' 11 third-quarter points as Land O' Lakes (19-1, 10-1 Class 5A-District 7) solidified its lead.

Gulf (15-5, 11-2) was led by freshman point guard Nicole Adams' 10 points, including eight in the second half.

The Bucs lost leading scorer Jordan Schulman, who left in the second quarter with eight points. Coach Mike Quarto said Schulman, who was averaging 15.5 points per game, had pain in her right shoulder and neck area. Quarto said she would get an X-ray.

Gulf's Sami Seybold also left the game, with a sprained ankle.

Gators coach Laurie Pacholke said defense was key to the victory. She said she had to slow the pace because the Gators were playing four games in six days.

Larry Bugg

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