Red Devils Take Control Late, Beat Bartow for District TitleLedge

Frostproof regroups against Mulberry to capture Class 3A, District 10 crown.

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RIVERVIEW | The top-seed Kathleen boys basketball team found itself tied with Bartow with 1:16 left in Saturday's Class 4A, District 9 championship.

Kathleen head coach Drew Taylor did not panic. In fact, he didn't say anything at all. His seniors knew what to do.

Miguel Paul made a driving layup with 1:08 left to break the tie, and T.J. Lawrence scored on an offensive rebound with 14.2 seconds remaining, to help lift the Red Devils to a 55-49 victory over the Yellow Jackets at Spoto High School.

With the title, Kathleen's sixth in the last seven years, the Red Devils stay home in the playoffs to host Palmetto on Thursday.

Bartow (18-9) will go on the road to face Hardee on Thursday.

Paul and Kevin Foster led Kathleen (23-4) with 17 points apiece.

Marlon Austin led the Yellow Jackets with 17 points, while Vince Reid added 10.

The game was tight throughout, with no team leading by more than six points.

Kathleen led 12-6 after one before Bartow battled back behind Austin in the second.

Austin scored 11 points in the quarter, hitting three 3-pointers to get the Yellow Jackets going offensively. Defensively, with the help of a full-court and half-court trap, Bartow held Kathleen to just four points in the quarter and took a 20-16 lead at the break.

Kathleen adjusted and took a 35-30 lead after 3 and pushed the lead to 47-41 with 2:16 left in the fourth.

Bartow, however, scored six straight points to tie the game at 47 before Kathleen's experience won out.

Bartow missed two straight shots, including a 3-pointer that rimmed out and had a turnover in its final four possessions and Kathleen took advantage.BARTOW (49): Stevenson 0 0-0 0, Samarrippas 3 1-2 9, Lawson 1 0-0 2, Marvin 1 0-0 2, Reid 5 0-2 10, Austin 7 0-0 17, Montgomery 1 0-0 2, Beauvil 2 0-2 5, Thomas 1 0-0 2, Garvin 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 1-6 49.KATHLEEN (55): Foster 6 5-7 17, London 3 3-6 9, Colston 0 0-0 0, Lawrence 2 1-2 5, Tumer 0 0-0 0, Cunningham 1 3-4 5, M. Paul 7 3-4 17, Gilberry 1 0-0 2, G. Paul 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 15-23 55.Halftime: Bartow 20-16. 3-Point Goals: Bartow 6 (Austin 3, Samarrippas 2, Beauvil 1). Kathleen 0. Technical fouls: Lawrence (K).- RICK BROWN | THE LEDGER



Bulldogs Capture Class 3A, District 10 Championship

MULBERRY | Frostproof coach Aubrey Whitaker leaned precariously back in his chair during the third quarter of the Class 3A, District 10 championship.

It was symbolic in a way to what was happening to his Bulldogs against Mulberry on Saturday night. The more Whitaker leaned back the more the Bulldogs saw their 14-point halftime lead slipping away. Just as disaster loomed, Whitaker and his Bulldogs caught themselves to avoid toppling over.

Rondell Walsh's basket with 1:42 left in the fourth broke a tie and two big late plays by eighth-grader Marcell White sealed the Bulldogs' district title with a 51-47 victory.

First, White pushed the lead to 49-45 with 28 seconds remaining as the Bulldogs patiently passed the ball on the perimeter until White worked his way to a wide-open inside bucket.

Mulberry's Travon Sampson got the Panthers back within a basket with 23 seconds left and the Panthers had a shot at the win with less than 10 seconds remaining.

The Panthers worked the ball inside to Dre Hall who tried to drive the lane on White but was denied when the eighth-grader stuffed Hall's shot, grabbed the rebound and shot the ball upcourt to Tony Pinion who stuffed home an emphatic exclamation point on the Bulldogs' win to set off a wild celebration.

"Mulberry played us tough," Whitaker said. "We just held on. We've got guys that have played in championship games before. It makes the difference."

Before the waters got rocky Frostproof enjoyed smooth sailing in the first half.

The Bulldogs (20-5) jumped on the Panthers (14-11) early thanks to the aggressive play of Nickell Robey. The sophomore point guard scored four consecutive baskets in the first period as the Bulldogs opened up a 19-5 first-period lead. Robey finished with 19 points, 14 in the first half.

"He's the perfect guy to run the fast break offense," Whitaker said. "We tried to get the ball to him a lot in the first half."

Mulberry's Michael Poole and Sampson led the Panthers' second-half resurgance. The Panthers outscored the Bulldogs 17-5 in the third period to cut the lead to 37-35.

The Panthers kept the score close in a back-and-forth fourth period and tied the game for the first time since 5:43 of the first period when Sampson hit one of two free throws with 3:05 remaining in the fourth.

Cold shooting and good defense by Frostproof ended Mulberry's upset hopes.

"We came out (in the second half) as if we had won the game already," Whitaker said. "We lost our poise in the second half."

Robey agreed.

"We came in trying to match their energy," he said. "We did the job in the first half. We tried to come out like that in the second half and didn't live up to that.

"We overcame adversity in the fourth. We had to dig, dig, dig and have heart."

Frostproof will play at home in the Class 3A Regional Quarterfinals on Thursday. Mulberry will be on the road.Mulberry (47): Michael Poole 6 1-2 17, Travon Sampson 4 6-7 14, Lee Amos 2 0-0 4, Trent McClendon 1 0-0 2, Tony Brown 2 0-0 4, Dre Hall 1 1-2 3, Cruz Muntz 1 0-0 3. Totals 17 8-11 47.Frostproof (51): Nickell Robey 8 3-9 19, Rondell Walsh 4 0-0 8, Devin Hamlton 1 0-0 3, Tony Pinion 1 3-4 5, Mason Gravely 3 0-1 6, Cornelisu Johnson 1 1-3 3, Joe Taylor 1 1-2 3, , Marcell White 2 0-0 4. Totals 21 8-17 51.Halftime score: Frostproof 32, Mulberry 18. 3-point goals: Mulberry 4 (Poole 3, Muntz), Frostproof 1 (Hamilton). Total Fouls: Mulberry 20, Frostproof 16. Fouled Out: Gravely. Technical Fouls: Robey, Jordan Armstrong (Mulberry).- RAYMOND BEASOCK | Ledger Correspondent

Moeder Helps Santa Fe Cruise Past All Saints

Winter Haven | Santa Fe Catholic defeated All Saints' Academy, 63-39, in the Class 2A, District 10 title game.

Santa Fe's Kyle Moeder led the Crimson Hawks (15-9) with three 3-point field goals in the first three minutes of the game that would lead to an early 17-0 advantage in the first quarter.

All Saints (14-9) had no answer for Moeder and Jake Weaver of Santa Fe with 25 and 13 points respectivly.

Santa Fe will play in the regional playoffs next Thursday at home.

Sonrise Edges Southland to Become District Champs

LAKELAND | For the second time in as many years, the Sonrise Christian Seminoles are the district champions, defeating an undermanned Southland Flames team, 48-42, Saturday night for the Class 1A, District 9 basketball title.

The Flames, dressed only six men after head coach Sean Johnson chose not to play his starting point guard, two-guard and sixth man as well as three other players.

Johnson said the players "made a bad decision (Friday) after school off school property."

The Southland players sitting out included Jose Pena who averaged 20 points and 6.5 steals a game.

In their places, the Flames played a sixth grader, ninth grader, 10th grader and three seniors.

Sonrise took an early 7-0 lead using a full-court press, but Southland rallied to within one, 13-12, by the end of the first quarter.

The Seminoles and Flames kept the game close in the second quarter with each team trading baskets and 3-pointers.

The Flames were able to tie the game up at 21 with a little less than three minutes remaining in the half, but the Seminoles ended the half with a 28-24 lead.

The Flames came out in the third quarter and scored a basket plus a free throw, with six minutes remaining, but those were the only points the Flames would score in the quarter.

"I think our full-court press, picking up the intensity, kind of wore them out a little bit," Seminoles coach Sean Skeans said.

The Seminoles' defense was able hold the Flames to three points while their offense scored was able to score 10 in the third.

Going into the fourth quarter, with an 11-point lead, the Seminoles ran their stall offense.

"We went to the stall because we thought our guards were good enough that nobody could steal it on the other team," Skean said.

At that point, the Flames were left with five players after Isaiah Baez fouled out. The stall worked and the Seminoles were able to hold on for the victory.

The Flames were led by Arnold Hernandez, who had 16 points, and Heber Garcia, who contributed 15 points.

The Seminoles were led by Chance Reid with 15 points, and Ryan Taylor with 12.

Both teams advance to regional play next week.SOUTHLAND (42): Rivera 0 0-0 0, Garcia 5 3-4 15, Baez 3 0-3 6, McKenna 0 0-0 0, Edwards 1 3-3 5, Hernandez 6 2-3 16. Totals 15 8-13 42.SONRISE (48): Fleeman 2 2-2 8, Fraiser 0 0-2 0, Nazarjo 1 0-2 3, Shireman 0 0-0 0,Hodges 4 0-0 10, Taylor 6 0-3 12, Evans 0 0-2 0, Butterfield 0 0-0 0, Reid 5 5-7 15, Burkes 0 0-0 0, Bianco 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 7-18 48.Halftime: Sonrise 28 Southland 24. Team Fouls: Sonrise 13, Southland 15. Fouled Out: Sonrise- None, Southland- Baez, Garcia. 3-point Field Goals: Sonrise 5 (Fleeman 2, Nazarjo, Hodges 2) Southland 4 (Garcia 2, Hernandez 2). Technical Fouls: None- ASHLEY KINCAID | LEDGER CORRESPONDENT

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