St. Petersburg, Sickles To Meet Again In Final

TAMPA - The Class 6A-District 7 championship game is beginning to resemble the movie "Groundhog Day."

For the third consecutive season, St. Petersburg and Sickles will vie for the district crown.

"This will be the third time that we're playing St. Pete in the finals, and it's always a good game. Both teams are young, so we expect it to be a pretty good matchup," Sickles coach Renaldo Garcia said. "They're always really good games, really competitive. We're looking forward to having an opportunity to play them tonight."

Sickles (20-6) knocked off Countryside for a third time this season, 77-53, in Game 2 of Friday night's tournament.

The Gryphons, the district's top seed, had control of the contest from start to finish, despite a late string of 3-pointers by the Cougars.

In the night's first game, St. Petersburg had to fight off a resilient Gaither squad for a 52-49 victory.

The Green Devils (17-7) wrestled the lead away from the Cowboys in the final five minutes, going up 44-42 on a 3-pointer by Justin Minetts.

The advantage was stretched to 48-44, but Gaither brought it to 48-46 with 42 seconds left. A series of blocked shots by St. Petersburg's Antwan Carter and missed shots by Gaither sealed the Green Devils' victory.

This season, Sickles and St. Petersburg have split their games. Sickles won the first contest in November, 53-39, and St. Petersburg returned the favor, 48-46 on a buzzer-beater in December.

Despite the fact the Gryphons have claimed the last two district titles from St. Petersburg, it is that last game that assures Garcia his team won't enter tonight's championship game with overinflated egos.

"The last time they played us, they beat us on a buzzer-beater here at our place," Garcia said. "The kids really took it hard, so I expect them to be focused tonight, and we expect St. Pete to be focused as well.

"We're looking forward to a good game."

Tip-off is 7 p.m.