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Walk The Line

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: January 13, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - Believe it or not, Darryn Frazier came into Tuesday night's game struggling from the foul line.

The Central High senior, the county's two-time defending scoring champion and current leader in that category, went just 16-of-26 from the charity stripe in three games last week.

He picked a good time to come out of that mini free throw slump, hitting 21-of-24 foul shots en route to scoring 37 points and lifting the host Bears past Class 5A, District 7 rival Land O' Lakes, 65-53.

"I've been slipping on free throws," Frazier said. "I've been practicing them at practice. I just have the confidence to hit them."

In a game in which the visiting Gators (12-7 overall, 3-2 5A-7) committed 30 fouls, 21 of them in the second half, Central (4-12 overall, 3-3 5A-7) avenged a 62-29 defeat at Land O' Lakes last month.

"One difference was we looked at the film (of the previous meeting) and a lot of their baskets came on second shots," Central Head Coach Eric Hayes said. "One thing we did a better job of tonight was limiting their second and third shots.

"We also did a good job of limiting their dribble penetration. There were moments when that still happened but for the most part we did a good job of containing. And we took care of the basketball."

Hot shooting start

Though free throw differential ultimately proved pivotal – the Gators went 6-of-16 from the foul line – it was the Bears' three-point shooting that initially put them in front.

They knocked down four in the opening quarter, two from Frazier and one apiece by Michael Lula and Barrett Sheffield, to lead 16-8 after one.

Land O' Lakes cut the deficit to six, 24-19, at the intermission, but Central opened up a 42-29 advantage on a Joseph Lula layup with less than two minutes left in the third and led 44-34 heading into the fourth.

Frazier put the Bears ahead by 15, 51-36, on two of his free throws with less than six minutes to play. The parade to the foul line continued the rest of the way as Central closed out a key district victory.

"Darryn has been struggling from the line since we went over to Orlando (for a Christmas tournament) and since we've been back," Hayes said. "The last few games, as a team, we've been under 60 percent.

"In order for us to be a good team, one of our goals is to shoot at least 70 percent from the free throw line and get more attempts."

No one else reached double figures in scoring for the Bears, though Guan Whitsett added nine points off the bench.

Matthew Dennis pulled down 10 rebounds and blocked four shots, while Sheffield had four assists. Quentin Bastian paced the Gators with 15 points and 16 rebounds.

After dropping its first three district contests, Central has captured three straight in 5A-7 play. Ridgewood came into the night unbeaten in the district, followed by the Gators and Bears in the standings.

Clinching either the second or third seed in the five-team district would mean having to only win one district tournament game to earn a regional berth and avoiding Ridgewood until the final.

"For one, this is the first time since I've been here that we've beaten Land O' Lakes. Yes, it's good in that sense," said Hayes, in his third season at Central. "Two, it gives our guys definitely a lot of confidence.

"We knew walking out of their gym last time, we weren't 30 points worse. We knew we were a better team than that."

CENTRAL 65, LAND O' LAKES 53
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
Land O' Lakes 8 11 15 19 — 53
Central 16 8 20 21 — 65
Land O' Lakes (53): Cardwell 2 1-2 5, Burnell 4 0-2 8, Bastian 5 5-8 15, Cooper 4 0-2 9, Gordon 2 0-0 4, R. Harris 2 0-2 6, Bartels 2 0-0 4, Jackson Cannon 1 0-0 2, Jacob Cannon 0, J. Harris 0. Totals 22 6-16 53.
Central (65): Frazier 7 21-24 37, Dennis 0 1-2 1, M. Lula 2 0-1 5, Sheffield 1 4-4 7, G. Rodriguez 0 0-2 0, Whitsett 3 2-4 9, P. Rodriguez 0 4-4 4, J. Lula 1 0-0 2, Teartt 0. Totals 14 32-41 65.
Three-point field goals: LOL 3 (R. Harris 2, Cooper); CEN 5 (Frazier 2, M. Lula, Sheffield, Whitsett).
Total fouls: LOL 30; CEN 16.
Technical fouls: Cardwell (LOL).
Fouled out: Burnell, Gordon (LOL).
Records: Land O' Lakes (12-7 overall, 3-2 5A-7), Central (4-12 overall, 3-3 5A-7).

Sports writer Chris Bernhardt Jr. can be reached at 352-544-5288 or cbernhardt@hernandotoday.com.

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