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Raiders, Cougars Hit Hardwood After Holiday

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By DAREK SHARP dsharp@tampatrib.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 14, 2009

PLANT CITY - The second half of the basketball season is under way, with Plant City and Durant back to the business of trying to improve their district standing. Both squads managed to fill their holiday with enough game action to prevent rust from setting in.

Plant City travelled to Orlando for the KSA Holiday Classic at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex. The Raiders went 1-2 in the event.

Durant finished its second 2-1 tourney performance, leaving the Big Blue Classic with an impressive season record of 11-3.

Although the Raiders have slid a bit from last year's exceptional region final campaign, head coach Dale Chambers remains encouraged.

"Obviously we are not as good as last year, but I have seen glimpses of hope," he said. "We lost our first game in Orlando by 44 points but bounced back by gutting out a tough win."

Plant City ran into a powerhouse at Disney in the form of a Los Alamitos, Calif., team. That squad went on to easily beat Niceville for the KSA championship and left Orlando with a 13-1 record. But the Raiders would defeat Coventry, R.I., 54-51 in a Dec. 29 meeting.

The Raiders returned to action last Monday with a district loss at Sarasota Riverview. A night later, Alton Honors scored 17 points, but the Raiders fell by 10 to Brandon. On Friday night, Durant defeated Plant City, 63-49; the Raiders take on Sarasota tonight.

Plant City's next home game is Friday against East Bay.

Durant had a chance for a perfect 3-0 stay at the Big Blue Classic, hosted by Winter Haven. The Cougars got 21 points from A.J. Garden in winning its first game there, 63-45, against Lake Region.

The Cougars had a huge fourth quarter, outscoring Lake Gibson 27-8, to beat the Braves 80-59. Guard Jordan Mitchell poured in 21 points, and Garden added 18. But Durant struggled on New Year's Eve against Auburndale, losing 44-39.

The Cougars were without leading scorer and top defender Andre Nation because of an ankle injury, but he should be good to go the rest of the way.

"We're looking forward to getting back into the district schedule," said Durant head coach Jeff Shotwell. The Cougars enter the second half of the season with the 6A-8 lead, but Lakeland and Sarasota Riverview are close behind.

Durant must play defending district champ Lakeland twice, the first meeting Jan. 22 at the Cougar gym.

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