A 22-2 burst enables Lakewood to seize control and set up a big matchup with Boca Ciega.
By JOHN C. COTEY
Published February 11, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - They turned away dozens of fans Tuesday night who wanted to see Gibbs play Lakewood, the Spartans gymnasium already bursting at the seams with 600-plus fans crammed in.
Thursday night, they might have to turn away hundreds.
Due to Lakewood's 74-60 win over the Gladiators, the Spartans will now host rival Boca Ciega on Thursday in a game to decide the south county representative in the Pinellas County Athletic Conference championship game.
Anticipating an overflow crowd, officials at Bogie asked that Lakewood move the game to a bigger gym at either Eckerd or St. Petersburg College. But coach Dan Wright isn't about to give up his homecourt advantage, and watching his team beat Gibbs it's no wonder why.
With a wild whooping and hooting contingent cheering the Spartans every move, Lakewood was able to open up a big early lead and then hold off the pesky Gladiators to improve to 22-1 on the season.
The Spartans, ranked No. 2 in the Class 4A poll, trailed 9-8 midway through the first quarter before one of their patented runs - a 22-2 burst - put Gibbs in a hole it couldn't dig out of.
The run ended the first quarter and extended into the second, with seven different Spartans contributing with points.
"That set the tone," Wright said. "With this group of guys here, we have a really good defense. We're blessed to have all five players able to play good defense and finish."
Gibbs coach Larry Murphy knew, like anyone who plays Lakewood does, that the run was coming, but it was longer and more crushing than he thought it would be.
"Basically, that was my pregame speech to the guys - I told them we can't let these guys get up on us early, and that's what happened," he said.
Louis Murphy scored 14 points off the bench, including 12 in the second half, as the Spartans withstood a furious Gibbs rally that cut the lead to nine points several times. But each time the Gladiators got close, Murphy pulled down a big rebound or the Spartans defense forced a turnover.
Lakewood officials said tickets for Thursday will be sold the day of the game, and if any remain by game time they will be at the gym's ticket window.
