TAMPA — In 1994, 3-20 Fort Meade came in and upset host Tampa Prep in the region playoffs.
For the first half of Thursday's Class 3A region quarterfinal, at least, visions of that loss haunted Tampa Prep coach Joe Fenlon as the 2014 Miners (7-14) gobbled up offensive rebounds and kept it close. Midway through the third quarter, the Terrapins shook the cobwebs and went on a 22-0 run that extended into the fourth, eventually winning 68-28.
“Anytime at regionals, the first few minutes are always interesting, this time it lasted until the half,” Fenlon said. “When you deal with high school kids who’ve been at school all day, you don’t know exactly how they’re going to come out.”
The Terrapins went on a 7-0 run to end the first half, then erupted in the third quarter. Amari Goulbourne hit a 3-pointer to start the run. Yoni Wasser knocked another one down. Then sophomore Juwan Durham got going, ripping down rebounds and sending the ball up the court for transition baskets. Durham got into the full-court press and picked off back-to-back in-bound passes from the Miners.
“Our size just wore on them,” Fenlon said. “When Juwan (Durham) is active back there, having a 6-9 guy on the press, pressuring your in-bound, it’s tough.”
The run extended into the fourth and when Durham logged his ninth blocked shot of the game, he was called to the bench with most of the other starters. Durham also had a game-high 19 points; Goulbourne added 15.