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Hernando Today

'Frazier' Sharp

Staff photo by BOB EAST III

Central's Darryn Frazier goes up for a shot as Hernando's Kyle Waters tries for the block.

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: January 29, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - After three seasons, surely every opposing team knows what to expect from Darryn Frazier and Central High.

Yet the senior guard continues to put up gaudy scoring numbers, evidenced by his county-leading 25.8 points per game going into Thursday night's game at Hernando High.

Three days removed from tossing in 39 against undefeated Springstead, Frazier duplicated that output in another sterling performance versus the Leopards.

However, this time Frazier led his team to victory, adding 10 rebounds and five steals in a 65-48 triumph.

"I'm playing pretty good," Frazier said. "I'm just trying to let the game come to me."

Tight early

This game had a few unusual occurrences, such as Central (7-15) not getting whistled for a single foul in the first half while Hernando (6-15) committed 12.

Conversely in the second half, the Bears were called for 14 fouls while the Leopards drew 13 whistles. Also Hernando scored 12 points in every quarter.

The Leopards actually led by two after one period, 12-10, but that advantage evaporated quickly as Frazier and backcourt mate Barrett Sheffield combined for 15 points in the second quarter.

A basket by Frazier with roughly two minutes left in the half gave Central its first double-digit edge, 27-16.

After James Stephens and Taylor Owensby hit three-pointers to close the gap, Frazier knocked down a trey at the halftime horn to make 32-24 at intermission.

Frazier added 14 in the third quarter including two threes, as the Bears began to cruise.

"It was close and coach wanted us to pull away," Frazier said. "I thought I needed to step up, take over, get the game out of the reach and that's what I did."

"He's doing a good job of picking and choosing his shots," Central Head Coach Eric Hayes said. "Sometimes I get on him about his shot selection but tonight for whatever reason they were backing off of him. When he knocks those (outside shots) down, it opens up the rest of his game."

The Bears led by as many as 20 in the fourth quarter. Aside from Frazier, Sheffield contributed 12 points. Phil Rodriguez and Joseph Lula grabbed eight and six rebounds respectively.

"We were very lethargic," Hayes said. "Not to take anything way from (Hernando). They're definitely getting better as a team since we saw them early in the season. But sometimes it seemed like we were going through the motions. I told them, you can't take anyone for granted.

"One, we picked it up defensively. There were points in the first half where defensively we didn't play with any intensity. Then we did a good job of running our offense."

Thomas Bronson led Hernando with 10 points and nine rebounds. Corey Thomas also had nine boards, while Derek Wilson had four steals.

Back in November the Leopards dropped the season-opener to the Bears, 59-30, though Central later forfeited the win for using an ineligible player.

"We've been improving throughout the course of the season, that's all we can ask for," Hernando Head Coach Mark Latsko said. "I feel like we're peaking at the right time, I just don't know if our summit is going to be high enough this year. I think we are playing our best basketball of the season.

"When I looked out on the court tonight I saw four sophomores and a junior. So we have a nucleus coming back next year and two years down the road, which is what we're building for."

CENTRAL 65, HERNANDO 48
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
Central 10 22 18 15 — 65
Hernando 12 12 12 12 — 48
Central (65): Frazier 14 7-9 39, Dennis 1 0-0 2, P. Rodriguez 0 4-4 4, Sheffield 3 5-9 12, G. Rodriguez 2 1-5 5, J. Lula 1 1-1 3, Robinson 0, Davis 0. Totals 21 18-28 65.
Hernando (48): Thomas 3 1-2 7, Jackson 2 0-0 4, Bronson 4 2-4 10, Wilson 0 3-4 3, Delaine 3 0-0 6, Stephens 3 0-1 7, Owensby 2 0-0 5, Steitz 1 0-0 3, Walters 1 1-2 3, Knapp 0. Totals 19 7-13 48.
Three-point field goals: CEN 5 (Frazier 4, Sheffield); HER 3 (Stephens, Owensby, Steitz).
Total fouls: CEN 14; HER 25.
Technical fouls: none.
Fouled out: Dennis (CEN), Jackson (HER).
Records: Central (7-15), Hernando (6-15).

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

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