TAMPA During the holiday break last season, the Blake boys basketball team ended Sickles' seven-game winning streak in the opening round of the Chamberlain Christmas Tournament.
Before his team's rematch against the Yellow Jackets on Wednesday, Sickles coach Renaldo Garcia reminded his players how Blake out-hustled them in the loss.
"We put a strong emphasis on that tonight," Garcia said. "We didn't want them to outplay us."
The players adhered to their coaches words and defeated Blake 57-39.
Sophomore point guard Jordan Davis and junior forward Niko Cora each had 17 points for Sickles, which improved to 17-5. Davis also had five rebounds and four assists, while junior guard Kelvin Daniels added 12 points.
"When Coach wants to let us know something, it motivates us," Davis said. "We try to do what he says, because we might have to pay for it in practice [if we don't]."
Senior guard Anthony Hill led Blake (10-13) with 11 points.
The score was tied at 19 with 4:03 remaining in the second quarter when the Gryphons went on an 11-2 run before halftime. In the fourth quarter, Sickles outscored Blake 15-7 to take the double-digit victory.
"For us to be 17-5 at this point with the number of underclassmen we have is great," Garcia said.
Sickles is in first place in Class 6A-District 7, but St. Petersburg could tie for first with a win over Mitchell tonight.
"It might come down to a coin flip," Davis said.
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