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CLASS 3A: Tyrone Tomlin and David Simpson stand tall in the face of larger foes as Wesley Chapel gets past Lemon Bay 60-53 in OT.
By JAMAL THALJI, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 5, 2003
ENGLEWOOD -- It never fails. Teams look at Wesley Chapel's starting frontcourt, see 6-feet-4, 6-0 and 5-8, and figure the post is theirs. Forgive Englewood Lemon Bay, which has players standing 6-4, 6-3 and 6-2 up front, for thinking the same thing.
The Wildcats forgave nothing.
Sixth-ranked Wesley Chapel stood tall over Lemon Bay, winning 60-53 in overtime in Tuesday night's region semifinal on the road. Now, one game stands in the way of the Wildcats' return to the state semifinal: Saturday's 7:30 p.m. region final at home against Jesuit.
David Simpson and Tyrone Tomlin led Wesley Chapel (26-3) with 16 points apiece, combining for 25 in the second half, and outplaying and outleaping their larger foes on both ends of the floor. Tomlin alone routed the Manta Rays in overtime, dropping a gutsy 3-pointer to give the Wildcats a five-point lead with 2:30 left and then making 3 of 4 free throws.
The Wildcats' emotions already were running high. Forward Nigel Bryant's father, Andrew Clark, passed away recently. The team dedicated the game to his memory and inscribed his name on their Nikes.
When Wesley Chapel's perimeter game faltered -- Simpson and Tomlin hit two of the team's three 3s -- the post players sought each other out.
"David and I, we looked at each other in the second half and we said at the same time 'We both have to play, let's do this,' " Tomlin said. "Every time we play, every time we're down, we say 'Let's do this.' "
Said Simpson: "We had to take it inside and we had to take it in strong."
Coach Kent Mills said what his team lacked from the field it made up for with defense and confidence. "When I looked at them and they couldn't get the shot in I said 'We're only four minutes away, and you're still the best basketball team here,' " he said. "We're going to win it, we're going to get on the bus and we're going to go home."
Lemon Bay (21-9) worked hard just to get to overtime. Wesley Chapel could have won in regulation, but struggled from the free-throw line, hitting 2 of 8 late. Jesse Jordan's open 3-pointer tied it with four seconds left.
Lemon Bay's frontcourt knew how to take advantage of its size. But the Wildcats' quickness and nine-man rotation wore them down, and the Rays spent the second half in foul trouble.
Mills said the team executed in the second half what it could not in the first. With Simpson and Greg Harrison in foul trouble, Lemon Bay used a 14-0 run to erase Wesley Chapel's early 9-2 lead and led by six at the half.