Ghent's 28 help PHCC win opener

By STEVE LEE

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 9, 2001

Marcus Ghent could not have picked a better time for his best offensive output of the season.

Pasco-Hernando Community College's lone returning starter poured in 28 points in Saturday's Suncoast Conference opener, leading the Conquistadors to an 86-72 win over Manatee.

"To start off the conference season with that kind of game was good," PHCC coach Bobby Bowman said.

Ghent is "a pretty versatile scorer," Bowman said.

Ghent, who had 20 points by halftime, logged a team-leading 18 rebounds. Michael Jones contributed 17 points for PHCC, and D.J. Towns had 15.

The Conquistadors (11-7, 1-0) play host to league rival Hillsborough on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

The win over Manatee enabled PHCC to complete its six-game road trip with a 4-2 mark, which included a 71-67 loss to Central Florida on Jan. 3.

The Conquistadors trailed 30-29 at the half before blowing a 58-54 lead in what Bowman called "a hard-fought game."

LIONS ON THE PROWL: After failing to win their Sunshine State Conference openers at home, the Saint Leo men's and women's basketball teams take to the road Wednesday in search of their first conference victories.

The Saint Leo women tip off at the University of Tampa at 5:30, with the men's game to follow at 7:30.

Saint Leo lost both games to Florida Southern on Saturday -- 79-57 in the men's contest and 78-66 in the women's matchup.

The Lions (7-5, 0-1) got 21 points from Matt Hogarth, and Gary Downing scored 15. The women (6-7, 0-1) lost despite getting 21 points from Angela Sclafani, who drained five three-pointers.

That loss gave the Lions a 1-2 record for the week as Saint Leo lost 73-64 to Harding University on Tuesday before Wednesday's 80-49 win over New Jersey Tech.

Angela Newsom's 15 points led Saint Leo against Harding. Ebony Winn had 22 and 11 rebounds against New Jersey Tech.

Despite the recent setbacks, Saint Leo women's coach Dave Wilson sees progress.

"I think the plus for us is that (Florida) Southern beat us by 40 and 30 points last year, so at least we gave them a game this time," Wilson said. "We're going in the right direction."

Plus, Wilson pointed out, the Conquistadors have one more win than they did last season.

"We're just playing that much better than we were last year," he said.

TURNER MAKES TOURNEY TEAM: Saint Leo guard Joe Turner was named to the Quincy Invitational All-Tournament team.

The senior averaged 17.5 points and five rebounds for two games -- both losses -- in the Dec. 29-30 series. He hit six three-pointers and shot 9-of-11 from the free-throw line.

BLOCKER SIGNS: PHCC volleyball coach Sam Cibrone made a smooth transition from Sickles High School.

He hopes a Sickles senior can follow suit.

Ashley Greco, a middle blocker from the district runner-up Gryphons, signed to play for the Conquistadores next season. At 6-foot-1, the left-handed Greco has been a force at the net.

In his first year at PHCC, Cibrone coached the Conquistadors to a school-record 32 wins and a berth in the junior college nationals.

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