TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Hernando Today

Frazier's 32 Lifts Central, 58-30

ADVERTISEMENT

By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: January 20, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - In his 18 seasons on the Central High bench, John Sedlack had the opportunity to coach such great players as Tyrone Goodson and Alex Ruoff.

However, he just missed out on the services of Darryn Frazier, who transferred to the Brooksville campus from Alaska three years ago, the first season after Sedlack left for River Ridge.

Instead, Sedlack had to coach against Frazier and the Bears Tuesday night, returning to the floor he called home for nearly two decades in a Class 5A, District 7 contest.

Frazier hit shots from all over the court, the county's two-time defending scoring champion and leading scorer tallying 32 points.

He also had a game-high six steals, part of 20 swipes by Central in 58-30 victory over the visiting Royal Knights. The Bears previously won at River Ridge on Dec. 12, 44-19.

"We can't handle the ball, we can't catch it and we can't shoot it," Sedlack said. "We're a bad team right now. We have a lot of people not working hard and that happens to teams sometimes. I thought our game plan was good but we got antsy and turned it over.

"…Frazier is a hell of a player. We talked about doubling him in zone and we never got to him."

On fire early

In a briskly played game featuring a combined nine free throws and 18 fouls, Central (5-13 overall, 4-4 5A-7) came out firing right from the start.

Frazier hit a three-pointer as the Bears got out in front by double figures early, 13-2. Point guard Barrett Sheffield added another trey in the period and Frazier finished with seven points.

In the second quarter, Frazier posted 15 points including two makes from beyond the arc, giving him 22 in the opening half, just short of his 25.2 average.

Alex Hill hit a halfcourt three just prior to the halftime horn, but that only cut the deficit to 14, 30-16.

River Ridge (9-10 overall, 0-6 5A-7) attempted to slow things down throughout the night, yet couldn't find a way to make a run. Twice Central led by 30 in the second half, 52-22 and 56-26.

"We did a good job," Central Head Coach Eric Hayes said. "One, we were patient on defense. We didn't try to force the issue. We did a good job of not falling into that trap and we took advantage of situations where they made a mistake with the basketball.

"We had a good night shooting. I put a lot of emphasis on shooting during practice. It's our home gym; if anywhere, we want to hit shots in our home gym."

Guan Whitsett contributed six points and four steals off the Bear bench. Matthew Dennis, Joseph Lula, Sheffield and Michael Walsh had two steals apiece. Dennis added six points and four blocks.

Central has now won 4-of-5 district games as it battles Land O' Lakes and Wesley Chapel for positioning behind powerhouse Ridgewood.

"Right now we're third but I think we've proven we can beat Land O' Lakes (65-53 last week)," Hayes said. "It's going to be real interesting. The tournament is at Land O' Lakes. We could play the host team in the first-round match. We'll see how that goes."

CENTRAL 58, RIVER RIDGE 30
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
River Ridge 7 9 4 10 — 30
Central 13 17 10 18 — 58
River Ridge (30): Bagamary 1 0-0 2, Michaels 1 0-0 2, Childs 3 0-0 6, Hill 1 0-0 3, Allen 2 0-0 4, Cibirka 2 0-0 4, Custodio 1 0-0 3, Gruzlewski 1 1-1 3, Golnik 1 0-0 2, Saitch 0 1-2 1, Lane 0, Surrena 0, Sestok 0. Totals 13 2-3 30.
Central (58): Frazier 13 2-2 32, Dennis 3 0-0 6, P. Rodriguez 1 0-0 2, Sheffield 1 2-2 5, G. Rodriguez 1 1-2 3, Whitsett 3 0-0 6, J. Lula 1 0-0 2, Walsh 1 0-0 2, Teartt 0, Davis 0. Totals 24 5-6 58.
Three-point field goals: RR 2 (Hill, Custodio); CEN 5 (Frazier 4, Sheffield).
Total fouls: RR 5; CEN 13.
Technical fouls: none.
Fouled out: none.
Records: River Ridge (9-10 overall, 0-6 5A-7), Central (5-13 overall, 4-4 5A-7).

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

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT