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Boys Basketball: Hillsborough Wins District Crown

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Tribune staff report

Published: February 15, 2009

TAMPA - It wasn't surprising that the third-seeded Hillsborough High boys basketball team knocked off No. 1 Blake in the Class 5A-District 10 boys basketball championship Saturday. After all, they split their two regular-season meetings, with each decided by fewer than 10 points.

What was surprising, however, was the relative ease with which the Terriers did it, rolling to an 84-66 win.

"We don't have a lot of D-I coaches knocking on our door," Hillsborough coach Andre Lewis said. "What we have are blue-collar boys who work hard and buy into the system."

Senior Juan Washington led the Terriers with a game-high 29 points. Washington's outburst came a day after being held to three points and fouling out in a semifinal win against Chamberlain.

"He never has two bad games back-to-back," Lewis said. "When he has a bad game, I know the next time out he'll be on."

Blake (20-7) fell apart in the latter part of the second quarter. Down only 28-24, the Yellow Jackets watched the Terriers pull away with an 11-0 run. Hillsborough (20-8) stretched its lead to 57-33 in the third and cruised the rest of the way.

"We just didn't execute on offense," Blake coach Winston Davis said.
Andre Smith and Tyrell Anderson led the Yellow Jackets with 15 points apiece.

Hillsborough, which extended its winning streak to eight, will host a region quarterfinal game Thursday, while Blake will play on the road.
Gregg Becnel

5A-8: Fitzpatrick Leads King To Title

TAMPA This season, King senior forward Toarlyn Fitzpatrick has been on a mission.

When his Lions saw an early exit in the Class 5A-District 8 boys basketball semifinals last year, he vowed to lead the team to a district title as a senior.

Saturday, he did just that with 29 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and four steals to lead King to a 58-51 win against Newsome for the district title, King's first since 2003.

"It feels good," Fitzpatrick said. "I kind of knew we had it. We beat them twice already and we had a lot of confidence."

King will host 5A-7 runner-up Land O' Lakes, while Newsome will play at 5A-7 champion Ridgewood in the region quarterfinals Thursday at 7 p.m.

The Lions (20-6) led 54-51 with 1:03 left in the game and were able to close out the game at the free-throw line.

King's defense set the tone for the game, using a full-court press and half-court press to finish the game with 14 steals.

"We had some chances tonight," Newsome coach Jon Mackey said. "We turned it over when we didn't need to, and we didn't give ourselves a chance to get back in it."

Junior forward Samal Shepherd led Newsome (20-5) with 17 points.

Nick Williams

5A-7: Ridgewood Rolls

LAND O' LAKES Slow it down, speed it up, nothing was going to stop Ridgewood from rolling to the Class 5A-District 7 boys basketball title.

The top-seeded Rams (25-2), winners of their last 24, rode a steady inside game and streaky 3-point shooting to a 65-47 win against Land O' Lakes (17-10), their third double-digit win against the tournament's No. 2 seed. Center Lukas Poderis had 22 points and guard C.J. Jones added 18, including three 3-pointers.

"When C.J. hit those two 3-pointers in a row, it really got us going," said Ridgewood coach Gary Anders of the shots that gave the Rams an 18-7 second-quarter lead. "We made the plays that we had to make."

The Rams went on a 16-1 run during that stretch. Defensively, they held Land O' Lakes' top scorer, Kevin Burnell, scoreless until there was 2:24 left in the first half. He finished with 14 points.

The Gators tried to slow the game down early, but after falling into an early deficit, which grew to 20 by the third quarter, they looked to push the ball. Though they were able to pull within 11 during the foul-filled fourth frame, they came no closer. The teams combined to shoot 54 free throws on 44 fouls.
Ridgewood will host Newsome in next week's regional quarterfinal, while Land O' Lakes will travel to King.

Bart O'Connell

5A-11: Boca Ciega Stuns Lakewood

ST. PETERSBURG Boca Ciega surprised Lakewood to take the Class 5A-District 11 boys basketball championship with a 72-69 overtime victory.

The Spartans were down by 12 at the end of the first quarter, but junior guard Bernard Reedy sparked his team with three field goals in the second quarter, and the margin remained close or tied for the rest of the game.

The Spartans were down by two with 9.3 seconds left in regulation when junior forward Dominic Lane hit a layup to tie the game at 63.

Boca Ciega outscored the Spartans 9-6 in overtime.

"We missed a lot of easy shots and probably could've put it away earlier, but we didn't," said Boca Ciega coach Randy Shuman. He cited good ball handling and solid defense as making the difference. "We made enough plays at the right time to keep us just far enough ahead. Lakewood battled back like they always do."

Senior guard Bryce Mosley led Boca Ciega with 21 points.

Shuman said he was pleased with his team's defensive and offensive effort, citing sophomore Kenny Smith's seven points, Devan Alderson's two 3-pointers off the bench, rebounding by Myron Dempsey, and senior guard Bryce Mosley's game-high 21 points. "It was just a good all-around effort," Shuman said.

"We had to execute on offense and defense, and that was the game plan," said Mosley. "We just followed orders from Coach Shuman, and everything went as planned. And we're ready to keep on playing."

Steve Sims

4A-8: Springstead Stops Hudson

WESLEY CHAPEL Led by senior guard Dante Valentine, the Springstead Eagles (27-0) beat the Hudson Cobras (19-8) 52-39 to win the Class 4A-District 8 boys basketball title.

Valentine scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had three steals in the win, as Springstead avenged a loss to Hudson in the semifinals of last year's district tournament.

"I had an elbow injury and couldn't play in last year's district tournament, so I really wanted it this year," Valentine said.

The Cobras jumped out to a 7-2 lead early in the game and held a 9-7 lead after the end of the first quarter. That was Hudson's last lead of the game, but Springstead's largest lead through the first three quarters was only six points. The score was tied at 24 at halftime, but the third quarter proved to set the tone for the entire second half.

In the third quarter, the Eagles outscored the Cobras 8-2 by employing an effective stall offense, daring Hudson to get out of its packed-in zone defense. The Eagles defense contested or blocked every Hudson shot while disrupting passing lanes. The Cobras didn't make a field goal for the first 11:29 of the second half; by the time Hudson made its first shot of the half they were down 38-27, and they didn't get within seven points the rest of the game.

Coach Pat Kelly of Springstead explained his tactics in the second half. "Hudson was running a defense that tries to take you out of what you want to do, so when we got the lead we decided to bring them out of that defense. Our offense was just as much responsible for their low point total [in the third quarter] as was our defense, although we played solid defense throughout the night. The kids deserve a lot of credit."

The Cobras were led by Jarrod Branco, who scored 16 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and had five assists. Branco scored or assisted on Hudson's first 20 points, before the Eagles defense put the clamps on him and the rest of the Cobras.

Because of the win, Springstead will host its first-round state playoff game. Hudson will be on the road.

Kenny Sanders

3A-11: Berkeley Prep Romps

TAMPA The big trouble for Tampa Catholic didn't start until two minutes remained in the third quarter, and then like an avalanche everything came crashing down, largely because of Berkeley Prep's relentless pressure.

In the span of five minutes that reached into the fourth quarter, Berkeley stretched its lead from two to 16.

Not long after that, the final score of the Class 3A-District 11 championship — Berkeley Prep 69, Tampa Catholic 49 — beamed from the scoreboard.

"We had a letdown of intensity, and then just like that [Berkeley] had an eight-point lead, and then, well, they had a huge lead," Tampa Catholic coach Don Dziagwa said. "Unfortunately, it's been that too often for us this season. I think that has a lot to do with our inexperience [starting two juniors, two sophomores and a freshman].

"We just can't find enough consistency."

Unlike Berkeley, which improved to 22-5 behind a host of senior leadership, including Johnathan Gray, who led all scorers Saturday with 29 points.

Berkeley coach Bobby Reinhart made sure to compliment Gray but then heaped more praise on his team's overall pressure.

"In the third quarter our pressure finally become more effective," Reinhart said. "We had to get [the Crusaders] out of their comfort zone and I think that's what happened."

Dziagwa said it was like his team "Ran out of gas."

"We looked good there in the first half [which ended 30-17 in favor of Berkeley]," Dziagwa said. "But then, as has happened this season, we had a span where we had trouble scoring."

TC, playing a tough schedule against many upper-class teams, dropped to 9-18.

Scott Purks

6A-7: Sickles Stops St. Pete

NEW PORT RICHEY Sickles proved Saturday night it isn't a one-man team.

With stud center and North Carolina-bound John Henson tied up in knots by St. Petersburg, the top-seeded Gryphons needed someone to pick up the slack.

That turned out to be Rashawn Rembert, who filled the offensive gap to give Sickles a big lead which was enough to withstand a St. Petersburg rally for a 50-42 Class 6A-District 7 win at Mitchell High School.

St. Petersburg coach Chris Blackwell pulled the smart move: If a team is to beat Sickles it must stop Henson. Blackwell and the Green Devils double- and triple-teamed Henson all night, bottling him up inside. With Henson only scoring eight points, his teammates chipped in, but none more so than Rembert with 13 points.

It was the first team win of any significance for Henson and he pointed out the emphasis was on the word "team."

"It feels great to have teammates who can step up," Henson said. "It was a rough game for me. [St. Petersburg] shut me down. But we have other players who can make big plays to get us a win."

Rembert admitted it isn't every game where Henson needs help.

"That doesn't happen too often," Rembert said. "I had to show what I could do. Since [Henson] was being double- and triple-teamed, we had to show we could shoot and take advantage."

The Green Devils were down big early and trailed by 16 in the third but didn't get blown out when it looked as if that would happen.

"You have to take your hat off to them," Blackwell said. "They didn't get rattled and stayed within the concept of what we were trying to do."

Lee Diekemper

2A-9: Tampa Prep Pulls Off Four-Peat

SPRING HILL Times change, results don't. Despite having three key players sick with the flu, Tampa Prep (23-4) is the district champion for the fourth consecutive year and the 12th time in the past 16 years after beating Indian Rocks Christian 51-33.

Going into the Class 2A-District 9 final, Indian Rocks Christian (19-9) coach Joe Frost reminded his team to expect a relentless, full-court, man-to-man defense by the Terrapins. "We expected a low scoring game in the 40-, 50-point range, so ball control was critical," Frost said.

Tampa Prep's defense forced 17 turnovers and an equal number of off-balance shots. When they had the ball, Terrapin guard Jordan Heath was able to penetrate and hand the ball off to teammates Jake Haslam, Jay Bowie and Davontae Morgan.

Haslam's four 3-pointers and two long jumpers closed the door whenever the Golden Eagles threatened. Haslam (17 points) credits his father for teaching him the slow-motion set-shot. "We'd shoot baskets in the driveway for hours," he said.

The Terrapins also received 14 points from Bowie and nine from Morgan. The Golden Eagles were led by Isaac McMillan with 12 and John Hogan with 11. Buddy Kaufman had nine assists.

Cliff Gill

1A-10: Seffner Christian Rolls

TAMPA Seffner Christian cruised to an easy victory for the second straight night to claim its second Class 1A-District 10 championship at the USF Corral.

The Crusaders' 81-55 win against Cambridge Christian seemed even more effortless than their 57-31 rout Friday night against Tampa Baptist, thanks in part to a 26-point, seven-rebound performance by Devin Paularinne.

"I've scored like that a few times this year," Paularinne said. "But not every night."

Mike Seward, Cambridge's leading scorer and hero from Friday night's win against Bayshore Christian, continued his scoring outburst early Saturday night. After Seward recorded nine of his 18 points in the first quarter, Seffner Christian coach Roger Duncan knew stopping Seward would be key.

"[Seward] is a tremendous player, and the last time we played them he had over 30 [points]," Duncan said.

Once Duncan delivered his message to his players, they locked down Seward and held him to nine points the rest of the night.

Seffner Christian wasted little time converting the stifling defense into fast-break opportunities with consistent scoring every quarter.

With Seward contained, the Crusaders more than doubled their 26-15 first-quarter lead to a 50-27 halftime advantage.

Even though they won easily Friday, Duncan wasn't completely satisfied with his team's effort at either end of the floor. Saturday, he had nothing but praise for it.

"Tonight our guys were very aggressive and hustled, and they just proved the want to [win]."

Seffner will face either Bradenton or Sarasota Christian in the regional finals. The Crusaders lost to both teams earlier this season, but Paularinne likes Seffner's chances this time around.

"We know we can make it to the finals," Paularinne said. "We know exactly what we need to prove.

Michael Franz

1A-11: Canterbury Eases To Title

CLEARWATER Canterbury (13-9) turned a close game into an easy win as the Crusaders took the Class 1A-District 11 championship 55-34 against Citrus Park Christian (13-13) at Lakeside Christian.

The No. 1-seeded Crusaders led 15-10 after the first quarter, 25-17 at the half, and then pulled away, outscoring the second-seeded Eagles 30-17 in the second half. Early in the game, the score was tied at four and then at six, but Canterbury led the rest of the way. The teams split two games during the regular season.

The Crusaders outrebounded and outshot Citrus Park. They repeatedly found open men cutting to the basket and hit them with sharp passes. The only area Canterbury did not excel in was free-throw shooting, making nine of 19.

Seven Crusaders scored. Bryce Wilson led with 19 points and Dominique Thornton contributed 16. Desean Thomas scored eight. Brandon Hagarty paced the Eagles with 13 points and Jerry Oliver had nine.

Citrus Park had earned its title shot with 3-point shooting in the semifinals, but Saturday the Eagles could hit only one from long range.

Oliver had the 3 in the third as CPC tried to come back, but the Eagles could get no closer than seven points.

"This is the first time our school has had back-to-back district titles," first-year Canterbury coach Josh Tebbe said. "Either opponent we get in the regional will be tough, but at least we get a home game."

Mike Moore

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