BRANDON - In winning the Class 5A, District 8 basketball championship, Brandon defeated Plant 60-50 and kept alive its streak against Hillsborough County schools. The Eagles, ranked No. 1 in Class 5A, have reeled off 40 straight wins against county squads.
But Brandon was almost forced to do so without two of its top players.
In the district semifinal contest against Middleton Saturday, Brandon lost Taylor Gangis and Aubrey Brown to hand injuries. In fact, the two players went down within five minutes of each other in the third period. Coach Mark Hermann initially feared the two had dislocated or broken fingers.
But after examinations determined there were no broken bones, the two players suited up for the district finals Tuesday. In helping their team win its second straight district championship, Brown scored 13 points and Gangis added 12.
MORE BOYS BASKETBALL: Riverview and Tampa Bay Tech also move on to regional play after capturing district championships. Riverview, which had lost twice to Bloomingdale during the regular season, upended its rival 48-42 in the Class 6A, District 6 championship game. Riverview received 21 points from Jeff Kovacs and 15 from Steven Walker in the win. Bloomingdale, which ends its season at 14-13, was led by Lee Richardson's 25 points, 21 of which came on his seven three-point goals. Also, Theo Smalling scored 12 for the Bulls.
Tech, meanwhile, had standout efforts from Demetrius Edwards and Yurel Scraggs in its 86-78 win against Blake in the Class 4A, District 11 championship game. Edwards scored 27 points while Scraggs added 25 points.
GIRLS SOCCER: Durant's bid for the Class 6A state championship came up just short, although the Cougars looked pretty good at the outset. Facing Douglas, the state's top-ranked team in Class 6A, Durant jumped out to a 2-0 first half lead.
Alicia Tirelli's free kick at the 19th minute and a score from Mandy Anton 13 minutes later had Durant up 2-0.
But the Cougars allowed a score just before the half. The resulting switch in momentum favored Douglas, which went on to a 3-2 victory. Durant ends the season 18-5-3.
BASEBALL: The prep season gets into full swing this weekend. Today, Brandon plays at Armwood, Bloomingdale hosts Riverview, Durant hosts Plant, Newsome travels to King and Tampa Bay Tech is at Plant City. On Saturday, Newsome hosts Alonso, Armwood is at Plant City, East Bay is at Chamberlain, Durant plays at Sickles and Tampa Bay Tech plays at Riverview.
ALUMNI: Former Brandon standout Joey Graham was named the Big 12 Conference Rookie of the Week after a career-best 36-point effort against Nebraska. Graham, a junior guard, averaged 24.5 points in two victories last week. A forward, Graham first scored 13 points in the Cowboys' 65-52 win at Oklahoma Feb. 17. He also had six rebounds against the Sooners.
In the 87-83 overtime win against Nebraska on Saturday, Graham scored on 12-of-19 shooting. He was 3-for-3 from three-point range against the Huskers and 9-of-11 from the free throw line. His 36 points were the most by a Cowboy since Randy Rutherford scored 45 points against Kansas in 1995. Graham and his twin brother Stephen, also a member of the Oklahoma State basketball team, graduated from Brandon in 2001.
