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One player not enough in PHCC loss
By STEVE LEE © St. Petersburg Times, published January 16, 2001 NEW PORT RICHEY -- Pasco-Hernando Community College appeared in line to win its Suncoast Conference home opener Saturday -- for a half, anyway. Unfortunately for the Conquistadors, a 27-22 lead at the break did not hold up in a 64-55 loss to Hillsborough Community College. "That's five points, two possessions," PHCC coach Bobby Bowman said of his team's slim lead. The game was up for grabs until the preseason conference player of the year, Rich Toussaint, buried a three-pointer for Hillsborough in the final minute. Toussaint scored a game-high 24 points, including four three-pointers. As usual, Marcus Ghent paced PHCC, finishing with a team-high 21 points. Unusual, however, was the lack of output from Ghent's teammates. Six Conquistadors average double figures in scoring, but only Ghent reached that against HCC. "We only had one guy in double figures, which is really uncharacteristic for us," Bowman said. "It was possibly the coldest shooting night we've had all year." With the conference schedule under way, the season is approaching its crucial stage. PHCC (11-8) is in a three-way tie with St. Petersburg Junior College and HCC. Polk is atop the conference at 3-0 while Manatee is at the bottom at 0-3 mark. "The conference is extremely balanced," Bowman said. "Any team can win on a given night. It's a battle and a challenge every night." The Conquistadors' next challenge is Wednesday night when they host SPJC at 7:30. Although PHCC has been to the state tournament for four consecutive seasons, Bowman said that has no bearing on this season. "You can't go on what's happened," he said. "You have to go on what's happening this year. We have nine new players." LABORING LIONS: Saint Leo's men's and women's basketball teams are still looking for their first Sunshine State Conference wins. Both are 0-3 in conference play and try again Wednesday night. The doubleheader against Florida Tech at Melbourne begins with the women's game at 5:30. The men tip off at 7:30. In Saturday's men's game, the Lions fell to 7-7 overall after a 81-68 loss to Barry. Joe King led Saint Leo in scoring with 18 points while teammate Matt Hogarth added 16 and a team-high five assists. That was not enough to off-set 32 points by Barry's Jason Junker. The Saint Leo women's team lost 78-64 to Barry and dropped to 6-9. The Lions outscored the Bucs 41-36 in the second half but could not overcome a 19-point halftime deficit. Saint Leo's Tenley Schofield scored 17 points, and teammate Jessica Goneconte chipped in with 11.
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