Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Preps

Citrus topples champ to end 42-year drought

INVERNESS -- When the clock hit zero and the buzzer sounded, Citrus fans rushed the court and celebrated wildly with their team, which defeated St. Augustine Nease 55-51 Thursday night.

Playoff victories aren't taken lightly here. The last time one happened was 1961.

"We had no idea it had been that long," Hurricanes point guard R.J. Cobb said.

The win was extra sweet for seventh-ranked Citrus (26-2) because Nease (19-8) was the defending state champion.

"It's a great win," Citrus forward Joel Miller said. "It doesn't get much bigger."

The Hurricanes built a 12-point first-half lead, then hung on for their lives. Nease, behind guard T.J. Paterick (21 points), closed within 46-45 with 3:29 left, but Citrus made 9 of 10 free throws in the final 2:51. Cobb's two free throws with 9.7 seconds remaining put the Hurricanes up by four.

"It was just like practice," Cobb said. "We shoot them every day, so it was nothing new."

In building a 30-21 halftime lead, Citrus played perhaps its two best quarters of the season. The Hurricanes shot better than 50 percent in the half and were called for three fouls.

"They've got a lot of balance," Nease coach Bud Beech said. "They've got good shooters, good penetrators and good size. They've got a lot of potential."

Guard Jamaal Galloway led Citrus with 14 points, Miller had 13 and Cobb 12. The Hurricanes play at No. 4 Orlando Jones (25-5) on Tuesday. Jones defeated South Sumter 80-50 Thursday.

"I think the first step is the hardest," Cobb said.

-- KEITH NIEBUHR

Tomlin sparks Wildcats

WESLEY CHAPEL -- In a pinch, Wesley Chapel coach Kent Mills feels he can go to any of his seven seniors.

Against Tampa Catholic on Thursday, he called on Tyrone Tomlin.

Tomlin answered with six points, all on layups, including a spectacular reverse, in an 11-3 run that broke a tie at 64 and led the Wildcats to a 79-73 win.

"We ran back-to-back (isolation plays) to Ty and it worked out," Mills said. "He's a senior; a big-time player who makes big-time shots."

Two-time district champion Wesley Chapel, a state semifinalist last season, plays a region semifinal Tuesday at Lemon Bay, a 37-25 winner over Sebring.

Tomlin, who finished with 16 points, was one of four Wesley Chapel seniors in double figures. Eric Sorensen, who had four 3-point shots, scored 19, David Simpson 13 and Zach Mills, the coach's son, 10.

"The seniors have played four years together," Kent Mills said. "It's fourth-quarter basketball. This is what it's all about."

The Wildcats (25-3) went on a 15-1 run after the Crusaders scored the game's first four points and their lead fluctuated between three and seven points. The Crusaders hung close and took a 56-52 lead on two straight 3-pointers by Anthony Messina with 1:59 left in the third quarter.

Travis LeMaster's only 3-point shot of the game restored Wesley Chapel's lead at 59-58 with 19 seconds left in the third, but Tampa Catholic took a 60-59 lead heading into the final quarter on two Ashley Thomas free throws.

Thomas went 8-for-8 from the line, all in the third quarter.

Tampa Catholic (12-18) tied it one last time, 64-64, on Keith Ewing's layup before Tomlin scored six of his team's next seven points off two passes from Zach Mills and another from Simpson.

Messina, who scored a game-high 31 points, hit two of his seven 3-pointers in the final 24 seconds.

"Every time I thought we had a chance to push (Wesley Chapel's lead) out they made big-time shots," coach Mills said. "You can't overlook anybody. This is playoff basketball."

-- STEVE LEE

Jesuit puts away Pasco

TAMPA -- About four Jesuit baskets into the second half of Thursday's game, Pasco coach Willie "Poncho" Broner III turned around with sweat running down his face and yelled a prediction into the crowd: "They're about to take over. ... You watch, they're about to take it over."

He must have been talking about Jesuit. The Tigers all but owned the second half as they ran over Pasco in a 61-40 victory.

The Pirates (13-15) were ahead 24-22 at halftime as they shifted into a quick-paced offense made up of long jumpers and an in-your-face dunk. The attitudes switched places, though, as Jesuit (23-5) came out with a 15-point scoring run to start the third quarter.

"They (the Pirates) run in spurts," Jesuit guard Alan Schonbrun said. "We knew if they were down by 15, they could come back. But if we're down by 15, we know we can come back, too."

Jesuit tallied 17 steals and Ryan Smyth had three big blocks. With five minutes left, the Tigers took their sweet time on offense, while Pasco began to play its bench.

Schonbrun scored 25 points, making 83 percent of his attempts and pumping up his team in Jesuit's hot, muggy gym. Joe Donoho also shot with confidence, adding 15 points.

Johnny Peyton was Pasco's biggest threat, scoring 22 points and making three 3-pointers. Deran Burns scored 10. Broner later said it was "the whistles, the stripes" he was talking about when Jesuit got on a roll.

The Tigers will be at Desoto County on Tuesday.

-- EMILY NIPPS

Bench sparks Ridgewood

NEW PORT RICHEY -- Ridgewood coach Gary Anders accentuated the positive after his team's 47-35 victory over East Ridge.

Yes, Ridgewood failed to take advantage of a 24-7 start, allowing its first-year foe to climb within range of the lead.

But the Rams (27-2), ranked fourth in the state 4A poll, did get tremendous minutes out of reserve guards Chris Gunter and Steven Affetto to win their first playoff game since 1997. Ridgewood will need that kind of production, and more, to reach the region finals for the first time since that year.

"I focused more on (their) performance and made a point of how important everyone is this time of year," Anders said. "(They) took a couple of charges, made a couple of steals, a couple of baskets. (They) came off the bench and made a contribution, which is so important this time of year."

Gunter scored nine and Affetto three. Chris Halkitis led the Rams with 14 points, scoring eight in the second quarter and going 4-of-4 from the line in the fourth. His two free throws with 1:08 left gave the Rams a 10-point lead. Sparkey Vilsaint led the Knights (13-13) with 13.

Ridgewood hosts Tuesday's region semifinal against Ocala Vanguard, which beat Palatka 88-72.

"I think maybe in the back of their minds our kids were thinking about their (.500) record," Anders said. "I tried to stress to our kids, once you get this far there are no easy teams left. Now we go to the next round, where they can really play."

-- JAMAL THALJI

Early run carries Leesburg

LEESBURG -- Leesburg came out with its guns smoking.

The Yellow Jackets used a 17-0 first-half run to rip Land O'Lakes 57-41.

The Jackets (19-12) carried a 15-2 first-quarter advantage into the second and continued to pour it on offensively and defensively. Land O'Lakes finally ended its six-minute drought when Drew Weatherford connected on a free throw to make it 19-3 with 5:56 remaining in the first half.

Leesburg used its speed and ball pressure to frustrate Land O'Lakes -- much to the pleasure of Jackets coach Chad Keller -- from start to finish.

"Our practices have been geared towards our halfcourt man-to-man (defense) and our intensity level ... and if we pressure the ball like we did tonight, it's going to take a good team to beat us. I really believe that."

"Our enthusiasm and togetherness tonight was as good as it's been all year, and it sure is a lot of fun to coach these guys right now."

Leesburg's Dominic Taylor led all scorers with 22 points, including four 3-pointers.

The Jackets scored eight quick points to increase their advantage to 31-15 in the third quarter. Leesburg led by as many as 22 before Reggie Rocker hit a layup at the buzzer to push the Jackets' lead to 45-23.

The Gators outscored the Jackets 18-12 in the fourth but were unable to make a significant run.

Weatherford led Land O'Lakes with 17, Logan Payne scored 10 and A.J. Brown added seven.

"We didn't defend well, we didn't shoot well early and that was the game," Land O'Lakes coach Dave Puhalski said. "Speed-wise, we couldn't keep up with them."

-- DAILY COMMERCIAL

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright