Leesburg rebounds to oust Tampa Blake in 4A state semifinal

Leesburg High School students cheer on their team as they beat Tampa Blake 68-52 Friday, March 4, 2011, in the Florida High School Athletic Association basketball semi-finals at The Lakeland Center

The Yellow Jackets turn game around early and roll to 68-52 win over No. 1-ranked 4A team.

March 04, 2011|By Buddy Collings, Orlando Sentinel

LAKELAND — Leesburg missed its first seven shots and made only two of its first 11 free-throw attempts in Friday's Class 4A state semifinal.

But the Yellow Jackets more than made up for their early lack of touch with 32 minutes of toughness to topple Tampa Blake 68-52.

Leesburg (27-4) bruised Blake (28-3) on the boards with a 46-37 rebounding edge and harassed prolific scorer Andre Smith into a 6-of-23 shooting performance to knock off the No. 1-ranked 4A team.

"We answered the call tonight," Leesburg coach Marcel Thomas said. "It was a great win for us, and not only for us but also for Lake County."

Leesburg, which brought a large following of fans to Lakeland, will be Lake's first team to play for a boys basketball championship since Mount Dora won the 4A crown in 1998. The second-ranked Yellow Jackets will face No. 3 Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons (19-7) in Saturday's final at 12:05 p.m

Leesburg scored 20 of its first 51 points off offensive rebounds, 13 in the first half, as it fought back from a 6-0 deficit. The Yellow Jackets went without a basket for 5 minutes, 19 seconds, but also stifled Blake with sticky zone defense.

Junior D'Maury Jones got Leesburg going by scoring on consecutive tip-ins. . Three-point shots made by Teron Wallace and Undra Mitchem in the first 45 seconds of the second quarter surpassed Leesburg's entire first-period scoring total for an 11-9 lead.

"I knew it just took one play for us to get going," Thomas said. "We wanted to use our defense to take their punches before we got our offense going."

Jones, an active 6-foot-4 forward, scored eight of his team-high 18 points on second-chance shots. He and his brother, Robert, combined for 17 rebounds.

Wallace had 17 points for Leesburg, Mitchem added 11 and three steals, and Joe Toolie delivered nine assists.

Brandon Channer had 20 and Smith 16 for Blake.

Article provided by:
Gerald Lacey
Staff Writer
Carver Heights Quarterback Club
www.leesburgyellowjacketsbasketball.com

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