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Boys basketball: Gibbs overcomes Boca Ciega's ball control

 
Published Feb. 5, 2015

ST. PETERSBURG — After a slow first half Wednesday, Gibbs erupted for 38 points in the final 16 minutes to blow out rival Boca Ciega 57-28 in the Class 5A, District 10 semifinals to advance to Friday's final.

Gibbs (17-8) was led by senior guard Barry Brown, who only missed two shots, finishing with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists.

"Even though we had the lead, Bogie tried to stall the ball," Brown said of the tempo. "Once we got a good lead, they couldn't stall anymore because they had to score and when that happened, they had to play our game, and we ended up winning."

Boca Ciega (14-11) started the game trying to control possession and keep Gibbs out of its up-tempo offense, and it worked in the first half. In the end, the Pirates ultimately dug themselves into a hole they could not get out of by scoring only eight points in the first two quarters.

During the initial minutes of the second half, the Gladiators went on a 12-4 run that opened up the game as the Pirates failed to create open chances and just looked out of rhythm.

"I basically just told my guys to stay disciplined on defense," Gibbs coach Larry Murphy said. "We're usually a help defense, so we had to change it up tonight and worked on containing the guy with ball while disrupting the passing lanes so we could get out and run."

Jacquez Conyers had a quiet night with 12 points while Sajon Ford came off the bench in the second half after Boca Ciega's lineup forced Murphy to go to a four-guard lineup in the beginning. Terrell Burney finished with a team-high nine points for the Pirates.

Gibbs advances to face Lakewood in a rematch of last year's district final that saw the Gladiators fall at home. Brown said he and his teammates are looking to avenge that loss.

"I'm looking forward to that game more than any game since last year they ended our season," Brown said. "We didn't get to win districts last year at home because of them, and this year we'll get another chance to have another outcome."

Lakewood 70, Bradenton Southeast 47: In the other semifinal, the host Spartans came into the matchup as a favorite, but Southeast made Lakewood work hard early. Both teams opened lethargically, but as the game picked up, so did the intensity.

Anthony Lawrence, who finished with a game-high 46 points along with 11 rebounds, five steals, four assists and three blocks, scored nine of the Spartans' 18 first-quarter points.

Lakewood led by five going into the second quarter and seemed to lose defensive focus, allowing Southeast to claw its way back on the shooting of Tre' Alexandria and Corey Davis, who led the Seminoles with 18 points. The Spartans took a 32-26 lead at halftime, led by Lawrence's 18 first-half points.

After the break, the Spartans came out of the locker room energized, hitting several 3-pointers. The lead escalated to 45-30, and Lawrence dunked twice in a 10-second span. At that point the Spartans kept the heat on, and Lakewood coach Anthony Lawrence Sr. started to sprinkle in the reserves.

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"This was the best game that I have had in weeks," Anthony Lawrence Jr. said. "I cannot wait until Friday night. I am hoping for a better game than I had (Wednesday)."

Class 5A-8

LAND O' LAKES — It's some trick, turning what had been a two-point game late in the first half into one that finishes with a running clock. But that's what Tarpon Springs can do, as Gulf witnessed in the Spongers' 91-49 victory.

Top-seeded Tarpon Springs (26-1) plays for its second straight district title — after a 36-year drought — Friday when it meets No. 3 seed Dunedin in the final. The Falcons defeated surprise semifinalist Anclote 62-44 to earn their first playoff trip since 2001.

Four seasons ago Dunedin coach Jason Franzen took over a program that had dropped 44 straight games.

"These seniors, they went through 2½ years of getting their teeth kicked in," Franzen said.

"We scheduled tough this year with the whole goal of making the playoffs. And one thing about these kids, they're not scared of Tarpon."

Gulf (8-21) trailed just 36-34 with a minute to go in the first half against Tarpon, but the Spongers' Daniel Davis hit a crucial 3-pointer at the buzzer. Davis went on to score 21, with Scottie James and Damarian Gulley getting 17 each. James had a dominating second half with 14 rebounds, five blocks and five assists.

The Spongers outrebounded Gulf 57-25, and the Bucs shot just 18 percent in the second half. Keshaun Peters scored a team-high 14.

Dunedin junior guard Chedonio Martin scored 17 and grabbed 10 rebounds against Anclote (4-19). Center Andrew Gordon had 14 rebounds and five blocked shots. Dunedin (11-13) began pulling away in the third quarter with Sam Ralston throwing a behind-the-back pass to Jeremy Speight for one basket, and giving an alley-oop to Gordon for another.

The Falcons got the margin up to 22, allowing them to coast through a fourth quarter where they didn't make a field goal until the 1:51 mark.

Joe Carland scored 15 and Hector Caraballo scored 13 to lead the seventh-seeded Sharks.

Correspondents Phillip Haywood and Darek Sharp contributed to this report.