Sports

Sharks sailing after historic victories

By Times Staff
Published January 10, 2006

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Riverview is 14-0 and 5-0 in girls basketball district play, including a 59-22 drubbing of district rival Plant City on Friday that clinched the No.1 seed for the Sharks in the Class 6A, District 8 tournament, which they host.

The No.1 seed is another milestone in an outstanding season. A significant one happened Dec.16 when Riverview defeated district rival Sarasota Riverview 48-40, the Sharks' first victory ever over the Rams. In the victory, Yomi Akintola notched a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and added six blocks.

The 6A-8 tournament is Jan.31-Feb.4.

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Academy of the Holy Names senior guard Kristina Darby broke the career 1,000 point barrier Jan.3 with a 12-foot jumper during a 60-56 loss to St. Petersburg Catholic. Darby had 12 points on the night, right at her scoring average of 12.3 a game. Through 16 games, she has 197 points for the Jaguars.

Boys basketball

Armwood is 12-3 and, despite two tough losses to archrival Brandon, 75-56 and 65-50, the Hawks appear to be in good shape.

"Last summer we worked very hard on fundamentals and began learning how to play well together as a team," Armwood coach Joe Morris said. "We also worked on weight training and did a lot of running to get in and stay in good shape. I think that is the main reason we have been injury free this season."

Morris gave credit to a couple of team leaders, 6-foot-4 junior forward Jason Anthony and senior guard Jeff Lewis. A case in point was Thursday's 79-75 victory over Freedom as Anthony scored 31 and Lewis added 13.

Anthony was also the MVP in both the Bayshore Christian and Seffner Christian Holiday Tournaments. Lewis and sophomore guard Adam Sollazzo were selected All-Tournament in both.

"We know it is still early in the season, and we also know our district (5A-8) is probably the toughest one around," Morris said. "Those three nights in early February in our district tournament are going to be up for grabs. It all depends on who shows up and is playing well."

Friday, Armwood visits Tampa Bay Tech in a key district game.

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After losing soundly to district foe Chamberlain last Thursday, 66-40, Robinson needed a lift Saturday at home against Freedom.

The Knights got it with a 66-61 victory behind a second-half surge.

The Patriots' Derek Duggins, extremely quick off the dribble, staked his team to an early 10-point lead with drives to the hoop and 3-pointers. Duggins had 16 points by the half and Freedom led 33-25.

"We needed to get something going after the break," Robinson coach Steve Smith said. "So we went to a half-court trap."

The ploy worked as the Knights outscored Freedom 41-28 in the second half. Stepping up as he has done all season, freshman Sheldon Cooley led Robinson with 26 points, including four 3s.

The Knights denied followup shots after intermission and ran an effective transition game, putting the Patriots in foul trouble early in the fourth quarter.

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You couldn't get another fan into Jesuit's gym last Friday when the Tigers entertained archrival Tampa Catholic (9-6), and it was entertaining, especially after TC went on a sprinting, shooting surge.

Down 10-0 to open the game, Tampa Catholic coach Don Dziagwa thought about calling a timeout, but decided not to.

"When your team shoots 3-pointers with the amount that we do (the target is 35 per game), you can catch up pretty quickly," Dziagwa said. "You have to be patient and confident they'll drop, and they did.

The Crusaders fought back to tie the score in the second quarter and trailed 37-33 at haftime. TC made 13 of 28 on 3-pointers - 46 percent, up considerably from this season's average of 32.7.

Throw in the fact that the Crusaders hit far more free throws (21) than Jesuit attempted (12) and it's no surprise TC ran away to a 74-60 victory.

Crusader Matt Dziagwa was particularly deadly from the free-throw line, hitting 11 of 12.

The rematch is scheduled Feb.3. Get your tickets early.

Football

Robinson is hiring a defensive coordinator to replace longtime coach Vaughn Volpi, who stepped aside to take a less involved coaching role with the team.

Robinson coach Mike DePue said he would like to hire someone with high school coaching experience who will also take a teaching position at the school.

Anyone interested can call Robinson High for details.

--Compiled by Times Staff Writer Scott Purks and Times correspondents Jim Reese and Bryan Burns.

[Last modified January 10, 2006, 01:52:17]

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