Last Friday, the Plant City Raiders traveled to Winter Haven to compete against the Blue Devils in the elite 8.
Right off the rip, you could tell it was a tough environment to travel to as the Blue Devils gym was packed. The Blue Devils won the opening tip-off and instantly scored, attacking the paint. The Raiders’ first possession started with a turnover, but they quickly stole it back but failed to get anything going. Early on, it seemed that the Raiders’ strategy was to hold the ball for as long as possible on offense, keeping Winter Haven on their heels. Plant City ran nearly two minutes off the clock on their second possession but ended up missing the shot attempt. Winter Haven got the ball and quickly turned on the jets, getting into transition at ease and getting an easy layup. The Raiders missed on the next offensive possession as well and Winter Haven out hustled them in transition, this time getting a dunk.The score was 6-0 and the Raiders were forced to call a timeout and regroup with 4:31 left in the first. Fresh off the timeout, the Raiders turned it over and the Blue Devils extended their lead with a midrange, making it 8-0. The scoring drought stopped for the Raiders as Malachi Morris split between two defenders and got the layup. The Raiders section started to get hyped as Gavin Tinsley grabbed an offensive rebound and putback for them. Michael Bell found Jamin Andrews for the layup and the Raiders were starting to figure things out on the offensive end. Winter Haven responded with a tough floater, but Raiders guard Leroy Lucas quickly attacked the paint with a layup to tie it for the Raiders. After both teams exchanged free throw attempts on their final offensive possessions of the quarter, it was tied 11-11.
The Raiders turned it over on the opening possession of the second quarter and Winter Haven took advantage with a putback after getting an offensive rebound. Gavin Tinsley got open and slammed it for the Raiders, tying it back up. After not seeing a single 3 made in the first for either team, Winter Haven made the first one of the game with 6:21 remaining in the first half. Tinsley headed to the free throw line after getting fouled on a put-back attempt and went 1-2 from the line. It was right after that when the Blue Devils got hot and went on an impressive run. It started with a nice spin move which led them to a midrange bucket, followed by back-to-back defensive possessions with steals that led to fast break points, one even being an and-one. Both teams exchanged missed shots but then the Blue Devils defense started picking pockets again, leading to back-to-back steals for them and one of those resulted in a fast break 3-point shot for them. After the home team went on a 10-0 run, the Raiders were forced to call a timeout with 4:11 left in the half, down 26-14. Leroy Lucas scored with a nice hustle play as he grabbed an offensive rebound and then quickly put up a baseline midrange. Winter Haven out-hustled the Raiders down the court as their big man got open, completing a vicious dunk. The Blue Devils then got two more steals, resulting in two dunks by their star player Isaac Celiscar. Malchi Morris hit the Raiders first 3 of the game to end the half and the Blue Devils were up 33-19. They outscored the Raiders 22-8 in the second quarter.
Winter Haven turned over the opening possession but the Raiders follow suit and the Blue Devils capitalized on it, getting a fastbreak dunk. Gavin Tinsley, doing his usual work, got the offensive rebound and putback to get the Raiders on the board. Blue Devils continue to get out in transition quicker than the Raiders, scoring four quick points on back-to-back possessions. Michael Bell got to the free throw line for the Raiders, going 2-2 from the line. It’s negated though as Winter Haven got to the line and made both free throws. The teams started trading baskets back and forth as Jamin Andrews made a nice reverse layup, followed by a Winter Haven floater, and then Michael Bell grabbed an offensive rebound and putback. Jamin Andrews stopped the consecutive scoring, getting a block, which led to a layup by Malachi Morris. Andrews then got another block, leading to an and one by Malachi Morris, converting the free throw as well. On what felt like a change of momentum for the away Raiders, they left a wide-open Blue Devil and he hit a 3, silencing the away crowd. Gavin Tinsley made a reverse layup and then Plant City called a timeout, down 50-35 with 2:10 left in the third. Winter Haven wasted no time after the timeout, making a tough layup, but the Raiders responded as Leroy Lucas hit a spot up 3, followed by a mid-range basket for Tinsley. Malachi Morris did hit a nice 3 for the Raiders with under a minute to go, but the Blue Devils made a 3 of their own to end the quarter. Heading into the 4th, it was 56-43. The Raiders did outscore the Blue Devils in the third, but still found themselves down by double-digits.
The final quarter started with a Raiders turnover, followed by a Winter Haven baseline pull-up 3. Michael Bell got an offensive rebound and found Tinsley for a baseline shot. Winter Haven started killing the clock on offense and they still found a way to put points on the board with a layup. Leroy Lucas got sent to the free throw line after a hard foul and went 2-2 from the line. Both offenses slowed down for a 1-2 minute span, but Gavin Tinsley got an offensive rebound and put-back for the Raiders. The Blue Devils responded with a nice fadeaway jumper, but Tinsley stayed hot, getting an and one on a scoop layup, and making the free throw as well. A timeout was called and the Raiders trailed 65-52 with 3:12 left. Tinsley blocked Winter Haven, leading to Leroy Lucas driving to the paint and drawing the foul, going 1-2 from the line. Winter Haven got a layup in transition and then called timeout. The Raiders were down 67-53 with 2:09 remaining in the game. The final possessions of the game for the Raiders offense came from a Jamin Andrews putback, Tinsley dunk, and Lucas layup, but there simply wasn’t enough time left for the comeback. The final score was 71-59 with the Winter Haven Blue Devils advancing and eliminating the Plant City Raiders.
It was an incredible season for the Raiders as they finished the year 22-7, making the elite 8 in one of the toughest divisions in the state. 7A had THREE nationally ranked teams, including Winter Haven.
