Boys 3A-11 hoops: Barons struggle against Berkeley Prep

By Peter Arrabal, Times Correspondent
Published February 10, 2008

TAMPA - Archie Barnes scored nearly half of Berkeley Prep's points as the Buccaneers (23-4) toppled St. Petersburg Catholic 74-54 in the district finals.

Barnes scored 35 for the Bucs, 23 coming in the second half.

"Archie Barnes was unbelievable tonight," Berkeley coach Bobby Reinhart said. "I had no idea he had scored that much. He's played so well the last few weeks of the season. He's a senior, and he's taken a great leadership role on the team."

Tracy Parks was held to 21 points, below his average of nearly 26 per game.

"We got a lot of great performances from a lot of people, particularly on defense," Reinhart said. "We knew we had to contain Tracy Parks a bit."

After falling behind 15-7 in the first quarter, the Barons fought back to cut the deficit to six at the end of the half. Barnes took over in the third quarter for the Bucs, hitting three shots from beyond the 3-point arc.

The Bucs cruised in their semifinal, seeing little resistance from Lennard, while the Barons fought to the buzzer with Tampa Catholic the night before. Reinhart was unsure if that gave them an advantage.

"Maybe, but I don't know," he said. "We knew we'd have a dogfight on our hands. Their team is used to playing back-to-back nights."

Berkeley Prep will get a home game Thursday in the region tournament. The Barons stay alive but must go on the road this week.

[Last modified February 9, 2008, 21:43:26]