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It never happened. Anthony Manuel and Chris Jean-Louis hit two threes and a driving layup to even the score at 22, and the half ended in a 25-25 deadlock. While the third quarter was basically even, the Wildcats took over in the fourth quarter for a decisive 59-45 victory, placing Newsome's District Championship hopes in jeopardy. The Wolves seemed to have difficulty maintaining their chemistry and intensity, while the Wildcats in contrast were highly in-synch and superbly motivated. In contrast to their sizzling 72% field goal percentage against Hernando last week, the Wolves managed a more earthly 41% from the field, but in spite of that and the second-lowest point production of the season, it was really more of a defensive and rebounding failure that cost the Wolves the game. The Wildcats also deserve a lot of credit for their intensity and focus in overcoming a lackluster start to this season. Wharton again proved to be a difficult environment in which to play, as they made up for their small fan following with the loudest speaker system in the county and the well-timed use of artificial noisemakers. In spite of their small numbers, the student section was highly vocal and made their presence right behind the Newsome bench well-known. As always, they remained long after the game to taunt the visitors on their way out of the gym. The Wildcats were led in scoring by Anthony Manuel with 19, followed by Chris Jean-Louis with 15 and Derek Holmes with 11. They were joined in double figures by Andreas Shields with 10. The Wolves were led by Samal Shepherd with 16, 13 of which came in the second quarter. Joe Raga was officially credited with 11 points, and Jake Hodges added 10. Dylan Fugate had 8 and Quincy Howell added 2 to round out the scoring for the Wolves. Samal Shepherd received a technical foul, but it was altitude, not attitude that tripped up the high-flying Wolf as he was cited for hanging on the rim late in the fourth quarter. St Pete Times Article Box Score Last changed: Jan 10 2008 at 8:22 AM Back |
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