Despite falling to nationally-ranked Winter Haven in their district championship last week, Plant City’s 21-4 regular season record was strong enough to earn them a third seed in their region as they advanced to the regional quarterfinal and hosted Alonso last Thursday.
For the Raiders it was a chance to exact revenge on the Ravens after the two teams met at Alonso on Feb. 3, with the Ravens escaping with a 50-49 overtime victory. But despite earning the opportunity to host their second matchup, Plant City wasn’t able to overcome the Ravens’ sharp shooting as they fell 48-41 to end their season.
After winning the opening tip, Plant City went right down the court and opened the scoring with an easy layup from Elijah Dawson. Strong defense and two more buckets from Dawson and senior guard Damian Jones put the Raiders up 6-0 early in the contest. After a long scoreless streak from both teams, a tough layup through contact from junior Chase Dexter extended the Plant City lead before Alonso ended the quarter with their only made shot of the period, a three-point shot to cut the Raiders deficit to 8-3 heading into the second.
A bucket from sophomore Seth Hogan on the assist from Jones put the Raiders up 10-3 early in the second, but a quick three from Alonso kept them within swinging distance. A midrange jumper from Jones and a huge dunk from Dawson once again gave Plant City some breathing room at 14-6, but Alonso once again answered with a three to make it 14-9. Dawson added two more on the Raiders next trip down the court but a layup from Alonso through the foul, tacking on the lone free throw, made it 16-12. Despite a slow start from the field for the Ravens, by the end of the second quarter they had clawed all the way back to make it a one point game as Plant City held narrowly to a 17-16 lead. Alonso wasted no time taking advantage of early miscues from Plant City in the third, forcing a turnover and converting on a midrange jumper to take their first lead of the night at 18-17, battling shot for shot with the Raiders as the Ravens took a 25-24 lead into the final quarter.
In the fourth, Alonso came alive from three once again. After a layup to open the quarter extended the Alonso lead to 27-24, they were able to get a stop on the defensive end and add a quick three to make it 30-24 — the Ravens’ largest lead of the night to that point. Another cold stretch was finally broken up by a huge three from senior guard Ray Cowen, but Alonso turned right back around with a three of their own to hold their two-possession lead at 33-27. And as Cowen drilled another deep three to make it 33-30, Alonso once again added another three of their own to make it 36-30. A second-chance bucket from senior Mike Bell cut the Ravens’ advantage to 36-32 for the moment, but Alonso’s fourth three-point shot of the quarter made it 39-32 and time was now beginning to run thin for the Raiders. A three from Jones, a forced turnover and a bucket inside from Dawson whittled the Alonso lead down to 41-37, but the Ravens were able to continue hitting shots and converting on crucial free throws down the stretch to secure the 48-41 victory and advance to the regional semifinal, eliminating the Raiders and marking an end to their phenomenal 22-6 campaign.