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© St. Petersburg Times, published March 15, 2003
LAKELAND -- Admiral Farragut senior 5-foot-11 guard and leading scorer John Whitehead was named to the Class A state tournament team Friday.
Whitehead scored a team-high 24 points, 14 in the second half, in the Blue Jackets' 48-47 loss in Wednesday's semifinal to eventual Class A champion Miami Northwest Christian.
Joining Whitehead on the Class A team are two Northwest Christian seniors, forward Richard Blue and guard Dorian James; West Melbourne Brevard Christian junior guard E.J. Murray and sophomore guard Billy LeBlanc; and Cottondale junior guard Antwon Hall.
Blue was voted the unanimous Class A tournament MVP.
CLASS 5A: Sophomore Derwin Kitchen's leaping, one-handed 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left lifted Jacksonville Raines over Boynton Beach 50-47 in Lakeland.
Kitchen scored a team-high 16 and was named tournament MVP.
Raines (25-9) trailed 40-36 entering the fourth quarter. Dave Noel scored 22 for Boynton Beach (30-5), including the basket that tied it at 47 with 2:25 left.
CLASS 3A: Tournament MVP Lovon Ponder scored 25 to lead Miami Monsignor Pace over Orlando Jones 49-48.
Pace led by seven with 35 seconds left but nearly let the game slip away after missing four free throws in the final moments.
Holding a 49-46 lead, Pace allowed Jones one more chance to tie with 3.5 seconds left when Jarvis Williams was fouled attempting a 3-point shot. But Williams hit only 2 of 3 free throws and after the inbounds pass, Pace stormed the floor in celebration.
CLASS A: Eddie Gainer scored 11 to lead Miami Northwest Christian over West Melbourne Brevard Christian 52-29.
Richard Blue and DeLuis Ramirez each added 10 points for Northwest Christian (33-3), which also won the title in 1999.
Northwest Christian swept the boys and girls state titles, the fourth time in state history a school has done that.
-- JAMAL THALJI, TIMES WIRES