Plant City went down in Thursday’s Class 8A regional quarterfinal, but not without a fight.
The Raiders and the St. Pete Green Devils duked it out at 1 Raider Place in a high-energy, up-tempo game matched by a packed, rocking crowd. Though the two teams kept things close for much of the game, St. Pete took control in the end and advanced on a 72-63 win.
Plant City held the lead at the end of each of the first two quarters and dictated the pace of the game, but the Green Devils were able to hang in there by getting to the free throw line and capitalizing on mistakes. The Raiders held a 33-31 lead at the half and led St. Pete for much of the third quarter, but the visiting team went on a 6-0 run in the final few minutes to go ahead, 49-48.
The teams traded leads in the fourth quarter and Plant City did its best to make every St. Pete basket difficult, especially at the rim, but St. Pete went on a 19-10 layup in the final four and a half minutes as the Raiders tried repeatedly to cut down the lead from three-point range.