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District boys basketball: Tampa Bay Tech 64, Plant City 45

 
Published Feb. 11, 2017

DOVER — At times late in the third quarter, after Tampa Bay Tech had weathered a 13-point Plant City run, Titans point guard Tyrick Brascom looked defiant just across midcourt, dribbling in place while waiting for a Raiders defender to step close enough to force his electric ball movement.

For the junior, it was pure enjoyment as he proved unanswerable for Plant City as TBT stretched its lead back out and cruised to a 64-45 win in the Class 8A, District 9 championship.

"Basketball is competitive and they were talking a little bit," Brascom said. "I love to compete, so while they were talking I was playing while I was talking back."

It was a slow start for both teams, but a costly foul on a 3-point attempt at the first-quarter buzzer followed by three successful free throws by David Cexil stretched the Titans' lead to six. They added to that in the second as Brascom scored nine of his game-high 23 points, including a 5-of-6 from the free-throw line, and a pair of slams from Tyrese Williams led to TBT (22-0) taking a 17-point lead to the half.

Plant City (18-9) came out of the break looking sharp, scoring seven points in the first minute as Tarik Mckelphin scored, stole the ball and scored again and Chris Butler knocked down a 3. The Raiders tallied 13-points before Brascom stopped the run with a 3 of his own.

"It's part of the game that there are going to be runs, and we know Plant City is a heck of a team," TBT coach Adrian Johnson said. "We have a lot of character on this team, we play hard, and we worked things out."

From there the Raiders added just one more 3 from Butler in the quarter as the Titans pulled away.

"They were pushing us a little bit there as they were pretty aggressive coming out," Brascom said. "We controlled it, and after their quick points we were able to slow it down and get our control back."

TBT freshman Ashtin Dore (six points) hit a clutch pair of 3s from the corner off the bench in the third.

"Ashtin is our rookie sensation," Johnson said. "He's our energy guy and when he comes in, he sparks our team."

A fourth-quarter slam from Mckelphin (who had a team-leading 20 points) was nice to look at, but mattered little as the Titans' lead proved too much. Brascom was the big leader, controlling the clock with his athleticism.

"Tyrick is a floor general," Johnson said. "He's been a starter for me since he was a freshman; he is a true point guard and our backbone."

Williams finished with 12 points and Cexil scored 11 for the Titans, while Plant City got 20 points from Mckelphin.

The Raiders advance to the region tournament for the first time since 2008 and will travel to St. Petersburg (15-10).

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The win marks the first district championship for Tampa Bay Tech since 2004, a milestone that brought some relief to Johnson.

"That's a long, long while — a long time coming," Johnson said.