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Bears Extend Leopards' Misery, 70-54

By RICK FULLER, Hernando Today correspondent

Published: January 23, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Trailing 9-7 at the end of the first quarter, the Central Bears returned from hibernation to score 20 points in the second quarter and take a lead into the half that they never relinquished, solving the winless Hernando Leopards Friday night at the Bears' Den, 70-54.

An uneventful first quarter that continued into the second took an abrupt turn when out of hibernation the Bears (5-16) awoke.

The hosts were sparked by junior guard Darryn Frazier (25 points).

Sophomore Guan Whitsett sparked his team with 3:05 left in the half, by stealing a pass and finding teammate Frazier underneath tying the game.

On the next possession, Whitsett found Joseph Lula under the rim for two more, giving the Bears the lead for the first time and for keeps, 20-18.

Whitsett wasn't finished, but this time he took a shot himself from the outside and nailed a two-pointer to extend the lead to 22-18.

The Bears kept the relentless pressure on and went into the locker room at the half leading, 27-18.
Turnovers doom HHS
Hernando (0-20) wasn't about to quit, but just couldn't hang with the Bears, turning the ball over 26 times, 12 of them out-right steals.

In the fourth quarter, Hernando matched the Bears with each scoring 23 points.

"We've really been working hard the last week and a half and played some good basketball," shared HHS's first-year Head Coach Chris Ridenour. "We've improved a lot. We're playing a lot better team basketball, especially on the offensive end. We just have to play a complete game"

Central's second-year Head Coach Eric Hayes countered, "We started off slow. I like it better when we play games when we're in school, as opposed to when we're out of school.

"We kinda woke up after that first quarter and a half, we started playing better basketball. We had some guys come off the bench and contribute. They did a real good job. It was a team effort."

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