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Preps

Wildcats clinch top district seed

Wesley Chapel's 21-4 run after Mulberry coach is ejected puts away win.

By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published January 31, 2003

WESLEY CHAPEL -- Mulberry came into Wesley Chapel with a 14-3 record, but after the first half, the Panthers offered little resistance to the Class 3A No.3 Wildcats.

Wesley Chapel (18-1) had five players score in double digits, pulling away to an easy 86-64 win that finished a perfect run through the District 10 schedule.

"The district is not over -- it was not decided tonight," said Wesley Chapel coach Kent Mills, who confirmed Thursday that he will be moving to Indiana after the season. "We have a first-round bye, but they're athletic, they shoot the ball well and they're going to be a tough team."

Mulberry (14-4) played with leading rebounder Kevin Pearson injured and on the bench, but it was more affected by the loss of head coach Collins Smith.

"We played for a half, and that was good for our kids," said assistant Chris Jesse, who took over after Smith drew his second technical just after halftime. "They beat us worse tonight than the first time, but we weren't even in that game. Tonight, they just wore us down in the second half."

The first technical marked the beginning of the end for Mulberry, which led until the final seconds of the opening quarter. The foul sparked a 6-0 run that ended with the Wildcats' first lead at 19-18. Mulberry stayed close, but Eric Sorensen's second of four 3-pointers helped the Wildcats to a 36-33 halftime lead.

The second technical all but took Mulberry out of the game. Smith was ejected after questioning a call, and that sparked a 21-4 run by Wesley Chapel, during which Mulberry hit one field goal in a six-minute span.

"It got away from them in the third quarter. They were emotionally spent," said Mills, whose son, Zach, led the Wildcats with 17 points.

Tyrone Tomlin had 10 of his 13 in the second half and Chris Roberts had 11 of his 13 after halftime. Add 14 points from Sorensen and 10 from Greg Harrison, and the Panthers had a frustrating night trying to slow down a balanced attack.

"We've had eight that have scored in double figures this year, and seven who have led us in scoring," Mills said. "We don't count on one person. Our offense doesn't turn to one person, so we can go with whoever is open."

Stephen Fox led the Panthers with 25, but Mulberry fell behind when it lost its shooting touch. After hitting 60 percent from the field in the second half, they hit 33 percent in the second half, compounding that problem by missing 9 of 15 second-half free throws. A win tonight against Bartow clinches the second seed for the district tournament at Pasco next month.

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