Wolves Face Titans, Lions Take On Bulls in Semifinals

Day 2 of the District tournament was a barn burner as TBT and Armwood opened with a barn burner and Wharton tested Bloomingdale thoroughly.  In the opening game, the lead changed twice in the final five seconds.  Both teams played an outstanding game.  Armwood played possibly their best game of the year.  Junior DJ Jackson put on an incredible performance with 13 blocked shots.  The energy level of senior Chris Ortiz kept bringing Armwood back from the brink of extinction.  But Tech wasn't about to go down easy, and with their multiple scoring threats and great defensive intensity, the Titans also had one of their finest efforts.  In the end, an 8 foot jumper as time expired by one of the district's most outstanding players, senior Fredrick Drayton put the Bulls into the semifinals. 

Tech will certainly have some momentum coming into tonight at 6:00 PM against the Wolves.  The Titans have matched up well with the Wolves in two encounters this year.  In the first game, the Wolves escaped with a 68-62 victory over the Titans, who suffered from a poor shooting night.  In that outing, the Wolves got it done from the free throw line as Samal Shepherd was 15-18 from the line en route to a school record 38 points.  In the second contest, the Titans came out hard and were 1 point down at halftime after a beautiful 50 foot three by Drayton.  A more balanced attack by the Wolves was sufficient for a 70-55 win as Steve MacNeil scored 14 and Andy Suslavich 11 to go along with Shepherd's 23. Drayton led the Titans with 23 points in each game.

In the nightcap, Wharton came out with a disciplined attack, as expected.  The Bulls got it done early behind a couple of threes from Sean Rooks, but the relentless play of the Wildcats took its toll.  The lead changed hands several times in the second half, but Wharton appeared to have the upper hand. With a three point lead and just a couple minutes to play, it appeared that they would stall-ball their way to a victory.  Then, with just over a minute to play, a Wharton miscue gave the Bulls the ball.  Sean Hayes popped a three to pull the Bulls back to a 39-39 tie.  Wharton would again attempt to hold the ball for the last shot, and again were unable to hang on to it.  The Wildcats were forced to foul a racing Joe Raga, who convered a free throw.  Needing to score quickly, Wharton was unable to convert, and they repeatedly sent Raga to the line.  He was able to convert four attempts for the nail-biting victory.  Offensively, Raga led the way for the Bulls with 13, followed by Rooks with 10. Playing without super sophomore Xavier Owens, the Wildcats were led by seniors Damian Dixon and Stephen Simmons with 11 and 10 points.  With Owens and fellow soph AJ Astroth among the returnees, Wharton should be highly competitive for years to come.

Tonight, the Bulls face the King Lions at 8:00.  Bloomingdale has performed well against the Lions in both meetings thus far, having held fourth quarter leads in both games only to come up short.  In the first meeting, the Bulls lost outstanding senior Callum Townsend to injury in the first half, but continued to battle, ultimately losing the game 62-58.  In the second contest, the Bulls held a 12 point fourth quarter lead before the Lions came storming back on their way to a 58-50 victory.

It should be a great night of basketball as any of these four teams has the ability to put on a show.  In addition to the well-known players like Samal Shepherd, Toarlyn Fitzpatrick, Joe Raga, and Fredrick Drayton each team has a stable-full of outstanding players.  You can be sure that some of them will step up tonight to make their presence known throughout the Tampa area.

Last changed: Feb 12 2009 at 10:02 AM

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