ST. PETERSBURG, FL-- It took a fight to get there, but Fort Myers High is headed back to the final four for the first time since 2003.
Fort Myers travelled to St. Petersburg and topped Lakewood 79-65 at Eckerd College behind 25 points, nine rebounds and three steals from sensational junior point guard Evin Graham.
Graham was 11-for-15 from the free throw line for Fort Myers (26-5). The Green Wave will take on Panama City Rutherford in a state semifinal game Friday at The Lakeland Center at a time yet to be determined.
Fort Myers is the only team from Southwest Florida to win a region title and advance to the state semifinals this season.
The Green Wave never trailed in the game. They jumped out to an 8-0 lead roughly two minutes in behind back-to-back 3-pointers from junior Matt Yance. Lakewood rallied to trim the Fort Myers lead to 14-13 but senior Josue Celestin scored to make the score 18-13 at the end of the first quarter.
Graham’s old fashioned 3-point play put Fort Myers up six midway through the second quarter and the Green Wave extended that lead to nine on their next possession after Graham buried a 3-pointer. Senior Buddy McClendon's 4-point play (3-pointer and made free throw) put the Green Wave up 33-23 with just under two minutes to play in the first half. Fort Myers led 36-29 at the half after picking up two cheap fouls at the end of the half which resulted in Spartan made free throws.
It seemed as if Lakewood (22-8) tried to rough up the Green Wave in the third quarter. The Spartans committed 10 fouls, including a technical, in the first 6:52 of the quarter meaning that Fort Myers would be in the double bonus for the rest of the game. Fort Myers responded well to the physical play as it drained 17-of-25 free throws in the second half.
Fort Myers led 61-49 entering the fourth quarter. The Spartans had their fullcourt trap on in full force in the final eight minutes but the Green Wave handled it well for the most part. Graham was able to pass out of double teams in the backcourt which led to easy buckets for teammates. Lakewood cut the Fort Myers lead to 73-65 with 52 seconds to go but the Green Wave closed the game on a 6-0 run to cement their trip to Lakeland.
Graham’s 25 led all scorers. Yance chipped in with 16 points for Fort Myers while senior Josue Celestin scored 12 points off the bench. Senior Colin Henry finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and four assists while McClendon also had 11 points.
Senior Tyler Manning was Fort Myers’ only other scorer. He finished with four points.
Mike Singleton led Lakewood with 23 points. Fort Myers and McClendon in particular held Lakewood’s LaDarius Barnes, who scored 39 points in the Spartans’ 79-65 win over Tampa Blake in their 4A-3 semifinal, to just two points in the second half and 10 overall.
Fort Myers Punches Their Ticket to Lakeland with Win over Lakewood
February 27, 2010
SWFLHoops.com
 | ||||
Site-specific editorial/photos ©2009 SWFL Hoops, Inc. All rights reserved. This website is an unofficial and independently operated source of news and information not affiliated with any school or team. Terms and Conditions Myspace Facebook YouTube Advertise with Us Contact Us About Us
