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Boys basketball: Gibbs just a step behind Mariner

 
Published Feb. 23, 2018

ST. PETERSBURG — Maybe just one more game would have made a difference.

Returning for Thursday's Class 6A region opener, Gibbs guard David Pierce exhibited quick hands and physical play against a taller, athletic Cape Coral Mariner squad. But the Gladiator offense took a while to find itself, allowing the Tritons to take the lead in the second quarter and fight off Gibbs' best shots for a 55-50 road victory.

"I think from a chemistry standpoint we were a little out of synch," said Gibbs coach Larry Murphy. "We weren't taking bad shots, but things were a little different than what we were used to doing."

An early thorn in the side of the Gladiators (21-6) was mobile 6-foot-8 center Nehemiah Darrett (nine points, 13 rebounds), who flashed into the lane for big offensive rebounds that extended possessions.

"We knew they were going to do a little high/low stuff," Murphy said. "We talked about trying to get bodies on them, make contact and limit their rebounding, which we did later on."

Darrett's hard work set up senior Jahmel Myers (10 points, eight rebounds) and sophomore Elijah Adams (11 points, four assists) for quality drives to the hoop.

"We played hard as hell and really focused on our defense," said Mariner coach Keeth Jones. "We didn't turn the ball over too much and we killed them on the boards (35-19 advantage). That's what we were looking to do."

Even facing that, Gibbs lingered. A deep 3 from Kai Pennington and two free throws from Tre Gilliam (game-high 22 points, 13 for 13 from the line) drew the Gladiators within a pair at halftime. A 3 from Pierce (12 points, six rebounds, three steals) and baskets from Deion Coleman (six points) and Deonnte Brooks (seven points, five steals) drew Gibbs even at 31 with 2:12 left in the third quarter.

But the Tritons (20-8) kept Gibbs at arm's length as junior Dakota Deverteuil (team-high 15 points) triggered an 11-2 run for their largest lead of the night at 42-33 with 6:20 left. The Gladiators responded behind 10 Gilliam points to get back to 48-46 with two minutes left but could not get the ball back while it was still a one-possession game.

"Last year, we were very experienced," Jones said. "We had to replace several starters but the only constant was our defense. Gibbs scored 50 points and we didn't have many teams score 50 on us this year."

"(Mariner) played good half-court defense, pounded the glass and didn't beat themselves," Murphy said. "We had chances but we could never consistently make shots, we just traded baskets with them.

"Over the offseason, we've just got to improve some things, get bigger, stronger, faster and more skilled. The good thing is we have a lot of kids coming back. We'll be okay."