Leesburg ends Blake's magical run, March 5, 2011

Class 4A Semifinal: Leesburg vs Blake

(JOSHUA C. CRUEY, ORLANDO SENTINEL / March 4, 2011)

Leesburg's Robert Jones goes up to the basket during fourth quarter action of a FHSAA Class 4A boys basketball semifinal against Blake at the Lakeland Center in Lakeland, Fla. on Friday, March 04, 2011

Blake's magical run ends

By NICK WILLIAMS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 5, 2011

LAKELAND - It had all the makings of a storybook ending.

The Blake boys basketball team, the No. 1-ranked team in Tampa and all of Class 4A, had reached the FHSAA state tournament for the first time in school history since the school reopened in 1997 and was chasing the school's first team state title.

In addition, the players were striving to win a state title for longtime coach Winston Davis, who had battled cancer all season and, after 27 years as a coach, was making his first trip to the final four.

On Friday, however, Blake's magical season came to an end with a 68-52 loss to No. 2 Leesburg in the Class 4A state semifinals.

Leesburg (27-4) will face Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons in the 4A final today at noon.

Class 4A Semifinal: Leesburg vs Blake

(JOSHUA C. CRUEY, ORLANDO SENTINEL / March 4, 2011)

Leesburg's Undra Mitchelm goes up to shoot during fourth quarter action of a FHSAA Class 4A boys basketball semifinal against Blake at the Lakeland Center in Lakeland, Fla. on Friday, March 04, 2011.

Junior guard Brandon Channer led Blake (28-3) with 20 points, while senior guard Andre Smith added 16 points. D'Mauri Jones led Leesburg (27-4) with 18 points, while Teron Wallace added 18.

Blake shot 36 percent from the floor and went 6-for-16 at the line, while Leesburg, which shot 43 percent and made 17 of 36 free throws, outrebounded Blake 46-37. At one point, Leesburg owned an 18-8 edge in offensive rebounds.

"We made some mistakes that at one point hurt us," Davis said. "They shot the ball better than we expected them to shoot it. We missed a lot of shots. We didn't shoot very well at the free throw line, 3-point line or two-point field goals, but we were still in the ball game."

Blake led 9-5 after the first quarter but was outscored 24-12 in the second. Leesburg pulled away in the fourth quarter, outscoring Blake 27-14.

Leesburg coach Marcel Thomas said rebounding and limiting Smith, Blake's top scorer, was his main strategy.

"We knew Blake was a good rebounding team," he said. "This week, we focused on boxing out. Preparing for them, it worked out for our guys."

Smith, who will play for Division I Winthrop University in the fall, was 6-of-23 from the field and was 3-of-10 from beyond the arc.

"We were better, but they wanted it more than we did," Smith said. "They played like they wanted it more than we did. They outhustled us, they outrebounded us and they did the small things and it turned into big things, and that's what made them look like a better team than us."

Though the loss was devastating, Davis, who has coached at Blake since 2001 and attended Blake before it closed in the early 1970s, remained positive.

"It was a good run for Blake High School." he said. "It's been a long time since we had run like this, even though the school closed down for 30 years. It was fantastic. There was a great feeling, all over the city."

Resources

Nick Williams

The Tampa Tribune

nwilliams@tampatrib.com

(813) 259-7851

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

    

 

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