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Boys Basketball: Sickles, King Claim Victories

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 22, 2009

TAMPA After defeating the second-best team in its district, St. Petersburg, by nearly 30 points on Wednesday, Sickles has essentially clinched the top seed in Class 6A-District 7. Senior center John Henson nearly pulled off a triple-double, leading the Gryphons with 16 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks in a 67-38 victory.

With the win, Sickles improved to 15-4 and 7-0 in district play.

"(My teammates) told me they never beat St. Pete like this before," Henson said.

In the first meeting, Sickles won, 65-35.

The Gryphons jumped out to a 22-6 first-quarter lead and never looked back. But it wasn't Henson's stats that led to the victory. Several players aided to the dominating performance. Senior Darian Conner had 14 points and five rebounds, junior point guard Jordan Davis had six points, seven assists and three steals and Rashawn Rembert added 10 points, including two three-pointers. Junior Kelvin Daniels added seven points and four steals.

"We play 11 people," Sickles coach Renaldo Garcia said. "Darian came out and gave us a big lift. We feel real confident bringing in guys like Darren and Kelvin off the bench. We're comfortable with our depth."

Mitchell, Alonso and Gaither are the remaining district games on Sickles' schedule. Mitchell provided the closest district contest to date with a final score of 51-45. The three-time defending district champion Gryphons have never gone undefeated in district play.

"That's been our goal, to clinch the top seed," Henson said. "The next step is to win district."

Andrew Carter led St. Petersburg (14-5, 5-2) with 11 points.

KING 62, NEWSOME 28: Sophomore guard Chauncey Day scored 15 points to lead King in a Class 5A-District 8 win over Newsome on Wednesday.

With the win, the Lions improved to 12-6 and 8-3 in district play. Newsome fell to 12-4 and 9-2.

King has not lost a district game on the court, but forfeited three games earlier in the season due to an ineligible player.

Georgia Southern-bound forward Toarlyn Fitzpatrick was involved in every facet of the game with nine points, 14 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and three steals.

"Our guys were really motivated," King coach Sam Lanier said. "We're hoping we can be the top seed."

Reporter Nick Williams can be reached at (813) 259-7851

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