Preps

Hillsborough: County roundup

By KEITH NIEBUHR AND JOE SMITH
Published November 21, 2007

Sickles junior Kelvin Daniels may be the county's biggest impact transfer this season. The 5-foot-11 guard showed why against Wharton on Tuesday night.

Daniels drained a go-ahead 3-pointer in the last minute of overtime then snatched a steal to seal the deal in the Gryphons' dramatic, 67-63 win over the host Wildcats. Daniels, formerly of Leto, racked up five 3-pointers and a team-high 21 points, making up for the absence of sophomore Jordan Davis (12 points), who fouled out in the fourth quarter.

More impressive is Sickles (2-0) has beaten two of the county's top teams - Chamberlain and Wharton - on back-to-back nights.

"When I first saw the schedule I was concerned," Sickles coach Renaldo Garcia said. "Now I'm pretty happy."

The Gryphons jumped out on Wharton, using zone defense and timely shooting to take a 12-point halftime lead on last year's 5A region finalist. The Wildcats, having to replace four starters and longtime coach Tommy Tonelli (who's now at USF and was in the stands), battled back to force overtime. Chris Jean Louis led the Wildcats with 21, but he couldn't top four Gryphons in double figures.

Sickles and Wharton will each play this weekend in the SEBA Thanksgiving Classic at Tampa Prep.

"It was a classic," Garcia said. "For a high school game, it was an emotional night; Tonelli was in the building. But our guys showed great poise and came up with some big shots."

Jesuit 66, St. Pete Catholic 49

At Jesuit, the Tigers won their season opener and broke a 10-game losing streak to the Barons. Senior guard Jake Seymour scored a team-high 20, including 17 in the second half as Jesuit held off SPC (0-1) down the stretch.

Senior center Philip Smith added 14 points and six rebounds.

"It's a big win for us in a big rivalry," Jesuit coach Neal Goldman said. "We've lost a lot of close games to them over the years, including a four-overtime game last year."

- Newsome 65, Lennard 34

At Newsome, junior post player Joe Raga scored 15 and grabbed seven boards as the Wolves improved to 2-0 in impressive fashion. Sophomore forward Jake Hodges added 10 points. Newsome controlled the game from the start but really turned it on with a 23-point third quarter.

"We played well," Newsome coach Jon Mackey said. "We gear our game strategy to play consistent defense, and that's what we did."

GIRLS BASKETBALL

- Hillsborough 92, Robinson 12

One night after losing to Sickles, Hillsborough bounced back in a big way.

At home, five players scored in double figures as the Terriers improved to 4-1. Freshman guard-forward Janissa Jackson led Hillsborough with 20 points. Antoinie Eugene scored 18 and three others scored 15 points each: Jasmine Hammond, Dominique Mitchell and Cassandra Nevarez. Khai Grubbs added eight points, eight steals and 11 assists.

Hillsborough led 32-4 after one quarter and 70-6 at the half.

"After we played Sickles, I said we would be back," Hillsborough Chris Brazzle said. "The girls obviously took out their frustrations on our next opponent."

- Plant 66, Chamberlain 28

At Plant, the Panthers improved to 3-0 as senior forward Kaitlyn Ostroski scored a game-high 16. Freshman guard Ganice Macho and sophomore guard Michelle Taylor added nine points each. Taylor also had 12 rebounds. Ostroski added nine boards.

"We played very sound team defense tonight," Panthers coach Carrie Mahon said. "We had some really shining moments in our full-court press."

- King 59, Wharton 38

At King, senior forward Samara Shepherd scored 22 and senior guard Shaineen Canady added 19 as the Lions improved to 4-0.

BOYS SOCCER

Jesuit 1, Delray Beach

American Heritage 0

At the Sarasota Invitational, senior midfielder Josh Menendez scored in the 58th minute and senior keeper Max Renaldo kept state power American Heritage out of the net as the Tigers earned an impressive semifinal win.

Jesuit is 6-1 and advances to tonight's final of the eight-team tournament. Thus far, the Tigers have five shutouts.

"Last year we lost to this team on penalty kicks in the same tournament," Jesuit coach Bob Bauman said. "This was our best test and our defense was brilliant. I thought we played 80 minutes of intense soccer."

GIRLS SOCCER

- Bloomingdale 0, Wharton 0

At Wharton, both teams played solid defense for 80 minutes in a match that produced few scoring opportunities. The teams combined for only nine total shots.

Bloomingdale is 3-0-1; Wharton is 5-3-1.

- Alonso 2, St. Petersburg 0

At St Petersburg, the Ravens improved to 6-1 as freshmen Alana Atenza and Jenna Murphy scored. Atenza's goal came in the first half; Murphy scored in the second.

Junior keeper Bethany Isaac had six saves.

- Plant 8, Blake 0

At Blake, sophomore midfielder Ellen Moore had two goals and six others scored as the Panthers improved to 5-0-1. The goals were the first for Moore this season.

"We played really well," Plant coach Stephen McGill said. "We kept our shape, we moved the ball around the field well and got lots of opportunities."

[Last modified November 21, 2007, 01:49:21]