Prep basketball: Plant holds off Alonso rally

The Plant High boys basketball team got off to a quick start, but it found itself struggling to hold on as Alonso clawed back in Wednesday's Class 8A-District 7 semifinal. However, the Panthers were able to hold on for a 64-61 victory.

Facing the Panthers in the district final Friday will be Wharton, which easily handled Bloomingdale, 54-23.

Plant's first half was keyed by a huge start from senior Anthony Haynes, including an 11-point opening quarter. Haynes ended the night with a game-high 25 points. Plant (20-4) led by 16 at halftime.

In the other semifinal, Troy Holston led the way for Wharton with 16 points, while Jaken Grier had 14 points.

Jarrett Guthrie

7A-8: East Bay, TBT cruise

Top-seeded East Bay used a 9-0 run to end the first quarter, and the Indians never looked back as they defeated Plant City, 63-46, in the Class 7A-District 8 semifinals.

The Indians (20-4) will host Tampa Bay Tech, a 67-52 winner over Riverview, in the final on Friday at 7 p.m.

Dario Duque led the Indians with 16 points, while Justin Green added 14.

Tampa Bay Tech (17-8) led from the beginning behind Elgrin Wilson, who scored 18 of his 32 points in the first half as the Titans built a 35-14 halftime lead. Nicholas Felder added 17 points as TBT controlled the inside against the Sharks.

Jamal Evans led Riverview (9-11) with 17 points.

Kevin Orth

7A-9: Top seeds advance to final

The top two seeds — No. 1 Chamberlain and No. 2 Wiregrass Ranch — made strong statements in the Class 7A-District 9 semifinals.

Wiregrass started the night against No. 3 seed Steinbrenner, winning 85-75, with a 14-4 run in the final 2 minutes. Chamberlain followed with a 75-48 victory over No. 4 Freedom, a team that split with the Chiefs during the regular season, winning by a point and losing by a point.

Wiregrass' high-octane offense struggled in the first and third quarters, but flourished with 25 points in the second quarter and 33 in the fourth. The Bulls' leading scorer, Rico Kerney, who finished with a game-high 32, contributed to the slow start by scoring none of his points in the first quarter.

Chamberlain dominated from start to finish against Freedom, which played without three players who were suspended last week following a fight during a game against Strawberry Crest.

The Chiefs were led by Reggie Hart's 28 points, which came mostly off strong drives to the basket.

Scott Purks

6A-11: Strawberry Crest, Sickles triumph

Strawberry Crest edged Armwood, 46-45, and Sickles beat King, 53-45, in the semifinals of the Class 6A-District 11 boys basketball tournament. Strawberry Crest hosts Sickles at 7 p.m. Friday in the title game.

Senior Brandon Channer had a game-high 23 points and 15 rebounds to lead Strawberry Crest (18-8) which was without two starters due to suspensions. Jawaun King scored 18 points for Armwood.

Daniel Harris led Sickles (20-6) with 14 points, while Eric Floyd and Devante Mitchem each scored 10 for the Gryphons. Harris was injured at the start of the third quarter and watched the rest of the game in a wheelchair by the Sickles bench.

Anthony Pressley had 16 points for King.

Don Trello

6A-10: Mitchell, LOL to meet again

Mitchell will get a chance to redeem itself from its two regular-season losses to Land O' Lakes, as the Mustangs rolled past Sunlake, 63-46 and the Gators got by River Ridge, 58-43, in the Class 6A-District 10 semifinals.

The Mustangs (20-6) made sure the Seahawks would not pull off an upset in their gymnasium, as Mitchell went on an 11-2 run in the second quarter and held Sunlake (10-14) to a basket in the second period.

In the second semifinal, Ernest McClendon led the Gators with 20 points.

Andy Villamarzo

4A-9: TC falls

Chivarsky Corbett scored a game-high 22 points, but it wasn't enough to prevent Tampa Catholic from suffering a season-ending loss.

Mike Jones had 16 points and Eric Mayes scored 11 of his 15 points in the final quarter as third-seeded Sarasota Booker topped the second-seeded Crusaders, 60-56, in a Class 4A-District 9 semifinal.

Booker will face tournament host Berkeley Prep in Friday's championship game.

Jio Molina and Isiah Thomas each added 11 points for Tampa Catholic.

Adam Adkins