This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Chamberlain Scrapes by Sickles to Reach Final

Chamberlain topped Sickles for the third time this year with a 48-45 victory on Tuesday night in the 5A region semifinal.

There may not be two more evenly matched boys high school basketball teams in all of Hillsborough County than Sickles (23-7) and Chamberlain (24-2).

The two sides met for the fourth time this season on Tuesday night in front of a packed house at Chamberlain High, with the Chiefs edging out the Gryphons for a third time this year by a score of 48-45. The result followed the trend of the previous meetings as three of the four contests were decided by five points or less.

“Two of the things we say are that defense wins games and free throws make the difference,” Chamberlain coach Christopher Snyder said. “We made our free throws when we really needed to and we made big defensive plays at the end. We didn’t have to say a whole lot in the timeouts because the guys didn't want their season to end."

Find out what's happening in Seminole Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The battle went back and forth throughout the game. After leading by five after the first quarter, Chamberlain fell behind as Sickles outscored them 14-8 in the second quarter to take a 21-20 lead into the half.

In the second half, it seemed like every time the Gryphons made a three or a big layup, the Chiefs came back with one of their own to get back in the game.

Find out what's happening in Seminole Heightswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The pace of the game didn’t slow even slightly as Sickles began to pull away in the third quarter. Building their lead to as many as five, it seemed the Gryphons had figured out a way keep Chamberlain at bay and get baskets when they needed them. After a few successful trips to the line however, the Chiefs were back within three when Ariel Martinez knocked down a crucial three pointer from the corner to tie it up.

“We’ve talked all year about how you never know when your number is going to be called but when it is, you can’t get caught up in the moment, you have to capture the moment,” Snyder said. “Ariel Martinez has been working his way back into the lineup after some time off for personal reasons and for him to knock down that shot was big. We joke about it all the time. It’s funny, somehow the ball always ends up in his hands.”

Martinez would come up with a crucial steal with the game tied at 45 in the final minute. The 17-year old guard immediately launched a pass up the court to the streaking Roderick Hart who was fouled on his way to the basket. He stood on the line with a chance to put his team ahead with eleven seconds remaining.

“The atmosphere in here was nerve racking,” Hart said. “My teammates told me to just take my time. I was definitely nervous but I just tried to zone everything out and focus.”

Defensively Hart had an incredible game. Eric Floyd is one of Sickles key scorers and provides the Gryphons with a big presence in the paint. Matched up against Hart, Floyd struggled with fouls and was held to four points for the night.

“I just tried to front him and make sure he wasn’t getting any easy baskets,” Hart said. “The game plan was to make him work side to side. I worked real hard to make that happen and we were able to pull it out.”

Rashawn Rembert led Sickles in points with 17, but it wasn’t enough as the rest of his team struggled to get going against the swarming Chiefs defense.

“I’m really proud of the way our kids competed coming in here to a hostile environment,” Sickles coach Renaldo Garcia said. “Our execution slipped in the fourth quarter and that cost us. We had some big turnovers when it mattered most and I thought early on it cost us that Eric (Floyd) got in foul trouble. He never really got in his rhythm.”

For the Chiefs, it was Reggie Hart leading all scorers with 20 points, but the leadership of Eric Storts was something that coach Snyder applauded after the game.

“After all the press he received coming into this one he knew he had to perform,” Snyder said. “That’s the most trust he has put in his teammates all season. He’s going to do what he needs to do to win and tonight he had faith in the guys around him to help make sure that his final season didn’t end.” 

The Chiefs will now travel to Gibbs high school in St. Petersburg for the region final on Saturday.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Seminole Heights