Basketball: Tigers rally, take down rival Crusaders

By ROD GIPSON
Published January 5, 2008

TAMPA - Jesuit coach Neal Goldman and senior guard Jake Seymour knew what to expect heading into Friday's game at rival Tampa Catholic.

A solid Crusaders team, a tightly matched game and plenty of emotion on the floor - and in the stands. The Tigers got all of that as they used a methodical comeback to post a 54-50 victory in front of a raucous standing-room-only crowd.

"It's a great win for us," said Goldman, who has guided his team to wins at Tampa Catholic in four of the past five seasons. "We took their best shot. They outplayed us early but were able to regroup and match their intensity."

Tampa Catholic (7-7) controlled the game's tempo early on. The Crusaders led throughout the first half and at one point had established an eight-point lead. But behind Seymour's offensive efforts, key baskets from Philip Smith and solid defense from Erik McGriff, the Tigers (9-4) stayed close enough to make a second-half run.

Seymour led all scorers with 20 points, scoring 13 in the second half.

Trailing 34-26 with five minutes left in the third, Seymour keyed a 10-2 Jesuit run with two 3-pointers, a steal and a layup. A quarter later, another Seymour steal and layup gave Jesuit its first lead at 40-38.

James Didden nailed four straight free throws to pull Tampa Catholic within two points at 46-44 with two minutes left. Moments later, an Alex Doyle three-point play had the Crusaders within two points with 17 seconds left but the Tigers added another basket and prevented the Crusaders from getting another shot off as time expired.

Smith tallied 11 points for Jesuit while Tampa Catholic was led by Didden's 14 points and David Gonzalez's 12.

The rivals will square off again to close the regular season Feb. 1 at Jesuit.

[Last modified January 5, 2008, 00:07:03]