Citrus swept away

Lake Wales dominates the Hurricanes with a tall front court and a stingy defense.

By DAWN REISS
Published March 2, 2005

INVERNESS - Lake Wales' post game and stingy man-to-man defense suffocated Citrus en route to a 74-37 victory.

Lake Wales (20-10) used its height advantage to lead the entire night. "We just try to play our game," Lake Wales coach Jimmy Johnson said. That means getting inside to score.

Led by Marvin Williams' 15 points, and Dominique Jones and Jerel Blocker, with 14 each, the Highlanders got inside the paint, blocked shots and scored on back-door passes.

"We had heard that they weren't that good of a shooting team," Citrus coach Tom Densmore said. "But I wouldn't believe it now after seeing them."

The Highlanders' athleticism, quickness and aggressiveness coupled with a tall front court proved too much for the 'Canes from the start.

After Citrus (21-7) tied the game at three and five the Highlanders went on an 11-0 run for a 16-5 lead in the first quarter.

But Citrus put up a fight. Chris Ramirez helped by intercepting passes as the 'Canes changed to a taller lineup with 6-foot-6 Brad Green, 6-4 Walter Howard and 6-2 Donnie Ross in hopes of combating the Highlanders' front court.

Senior R.J. Cobb led the 'Canes' second-quarter charge, scoring seven of Citrus' 14 points to equal Lake Wales' 14 in that period. "We just don't match up very well with big," Densmore said. "It helped some on defense, probably hurt a bit on offense, but you've got to try everything."

After the break, Lake Wales charged ahead scoring 23 points while holding Citrus to three 2-pointers and three free throws.

"We couldn't get anything to fall and a lot of it was them," Densmore said. "When you're trying to shoot over 6-foot-9 arms, they altered almost every shot we took and the ones they didn't we were still thinking they would. I don't know what we could have done to make it a closer game."

[Last modified March 2, 2005, 00:47:18]