Holmes spurs SPC over Tampa Catholic

By CHRIS GIRANDOLA
Published January 5, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Tampa Catholic's game plan was plain as day. Shoot and make as many 3-pointers as possible.

St. Petersburg Catholic forward Aaron Holmes had his own plan: Do whatever it takes to win.

And Holmes did just that, scoring 38 and grabbing 14 rebounds to help SPC outlast Tampa Catholic 68-64.

"After watching the tape of the Lake Wales game (in the Hooters Shootout), I decided I needed to work harder on the boards," said Holmes, who was recognized in a pregame ceremony for scoring his 2,000th career point during the holiday tournament. "I have to commit to contributing on both sides of the court to help my team win."

Holmes finished the night 13-of-20 while coming up with four steals and three assists.

Tampa Catholic (8-6) got within 66-64 with 22 seconds left on a layup by Joey Lauteria (18 points), but Noah Cumby was fouled and sank both free throws to seal the win.

The Crusaders jumped to an early lead in the first quarter, but Holmes scored nine straight at the end to give the Barons a 16-12 lead.

The Barons increased their lead in the second quarter as the Crusaders went cold from behind the arc, knocking down just 2-of-11 3s. SPC (8-2) figured out Tampa Catholic's 2-3 zone and outscored the Crusaders 18-11 to take a 34-23 halftime lead.

"We average 79 points a game, so it was pretty frustrating for us to go into halftime only scoring 23 in the first," Tampa Catholic coach Don Dziagwa said.

The Crusaders came out of the locker room and began hitting their long jumpers, going 5-of-10 from behind the line and outscoring the Barons 22-20 to close the gap to nine.

[Last modified January 5, 2006, 01:19:08]