Panthers move forward
LAKELAND — Dr. Phillips took a huge step toward what it hopes will be the first boys basketball state championship in school history with a 56-44 win Friday afternoon against No. 1-ranked Orlando rival Oak Ridge.
The shot-swatting ability of 6-foot-10 junior center Ernest Udeh Jr. and key baskets by junior guard Riley Kugel helped the Panthers claim a hardfought but decisive victory at the RP Funding Center.
DP, which came in ranked second in Class 7A, led by just 43-42 three minutes into the final quarter but secured the victory with a decisive 11-0 run. That included an emphatic dunk by Udeh that upped his team’s lead to 52-42.
Oak Ridge missed 11 shots in a row during DP’s scoring spree.
Dr. Phillips (23-3), a perennial power making its seventh state finalfour appearance, will seek the Florida High School Athletic Association championship Saturday night at 8. The Panthers will play for the title against Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer (14-3), which won 58-54 over Davie Western (14-8) Friday.
DP junior guard Denzel Aberdeen, who led his team’s balanced effort with 12 points, said gaining revenge for a 49-47 regular-season loss to Oak Ridge (23-3) was big but added, “It’s not the main thing. We didn’t come here just to beat Oak Ridge. We’re going to focus on tomorrow’s game so we can make some history for our school.”
Udeh scored seven points and had a game-high 12 rebounds and four key blocked shots down the stretch. He had five of the Panthers’ nine blocks for the game.
“I’ve got to always make sure my presence is felt,” Udeh said of his mission to protect the rim.
His rejections helped DP hold the Pioneers to 33% shooting (16-of-49).
“I think we kept them off balance by changing defenses,” second-year Dr. Phillips coach Ben Witherspoon said. “We played more man-to-man in this game.”
The Panthers made 44.7% of their attempts (21-of-47) and were prepared when Oak Ridge went to its signature pressing defense late in the game.
“We knew the press was coming,” Witherspoon said. “We 100% wanted to attack it. Breaking the press puts the numbers in your favor and I feel like we have the guys to take advantage of that.”
Kugel, DP’s third junior major-college prospect, scored 10 points in an effort that saw the Panthers get contributions from all eight players who checked in.
That included big 3-point shots in the second half by seniors Eathen Williams and Ledger Hatch, and another three by ninthgrader Jordan Tillery off a difficult airborne pass by Kugel.
Tillery, Williams and Jason Sheffield came off the bench and combined to make all seven of their shot attempts.
There were 12 lead changes and five ties through three quarters.
Dr. Phillips led 38-37 going into the fourth quarter and 43-42 after Oak Ridge senior standout Michael James made two free throws with 5:36 to go. A driving basket by Kugel and several hustle plays by Panthers triggered DP’s decisive run.
“I knew we had to get a bucket then and there,” Kugel said.
Junior guard Fabio Basili rose to the occasion in the early going for Oak Ridge but struggled late. He scored a game-high 19 points.
James, a Louisville recruit, added 15 points and eight rebounds but was surrounded by DP defenders throughout the second half.
The UCF women’s basketball team closed out the regular season Thursday with the first Top 15 win in program history, upsetting No. 14 rival USF 58-45 at Addition Financial Arena.
Four Knights finished in double figures. Masseny Kaba led all scorers with 16 points and nine rebounds. Brittney Smith added 13 points.
Diamond Battles had 11 points and dished out seven assists, plus had a game-high five steals. Alisha Lewis chipped in 10 points and four assists.
UCF (14-3, 12-2 American Athletic Conference) evened the War on I-4 for this season, making up for a 65-62 loss Tuesday at USF (15-3, 13-2*), and has now won five of their last six meetings. The only UCF victory over a ranked opponent prior to Thursday came Feb. 14, 2017, when the Knights took down then-No. 22 USF.
Kaba scored 10 of UCF’s 18 points in the first quarter, and the Knights led 32-23 at halftime. Smith gave UCF its largest advantage, 51-37, with 6:58 left in the game.
The UCF defense held USF to its lowest score of the season and limited the Bulls to 25.5% shooting from the field, while shooting 47.8% on the other end.
The Knights also held a 34-8 advantage in the paint and scored 23 points off 15 Bulls turnovers.
The Bulls are the fifth team to be held to a season-low in points against UCF. In 17 games, the Knights have held their opponent to less than 50 points.
Elena Tsineke scored 15 points for USF. Bethy Mununga added 11 points and 14 rebounds. Sydni Harvey scored all eight Bulls points in the first quarter, but didn’t score again.
Though the Knights came out on top Thursday, they enter the AAC Championship tournament as the No. 2 seed, behind No. 1 USF.
The first round of the tournament at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, begins Monday with No. 9 Wichita State vs. No. 8 Tulsa at 2:30 p.m. and No. 10 Memphis vs. No. 7 Cincinnati at 5:30 p.m.
The Knights open play at 7 p.m. Tuesday with a quarterfinal against the winner of Memphis-Cincinnati. USF plays the winner of Game 1 at 3 p.m. that day. See the full schedule here.
*The American declared a forfeit win for USF against Memphis for conference-standings purposes only as a result of the scheduled game Jan. 17 that was not played. The teams’ overall records are not affected.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
The NFL is taking steps to learn more about different ways to help players manage pain.
Last month, the NFL and NFL Players Association asked researchers with experience conducting controlled, experimental studies related to pain management to submit information that may be useful in treating players.
The joint pain management committee comprised of medical experts appointed by the league and the union wants to know about alternatives to opioids, including CBD (cannabidiol) and other cannabis-derivative products, that may help players recover from sports-specific injuries. The committee’s mission is to “improve player health through evidence-based treatment of acute and chronic pain, and to facilitate research to better understand and improve potential alternative treatments.”
“We all recognize that appropriate treatment of pain is an important aspect of not only sports medicine but just medicine in general, so we are always looking at new methods and new techniques for treating pain that will be safer and more effective than opioids,” Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, told The Associated Press.
The committee did two informational forums on CBD in 2020 to learn about its science and manufacturing.
“There is a lot of marketing for these various products but you have to understand that any time we talk about something for NFL athletes, the burden of proof is incredibly high,” Sills said. “NFL players obviously have a tremendous interest in what they put in their bodies and what effects can be. If you’re taking a pain medication, you want to know how does it work on my pain. But you also have to be concerned with does it have any negative impact on performance, because that’s equally important to an NFL player who makes a living in fractions of a second at incredibly high speeds.
“If there’s a compound or a medication that causes someone to lose that edge, lose that speed, something like that, that’s a substantial negative of some kind of treatment there.”
Jim McMahon, a two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback and leader of the 1985 Bears, played through numerous injuries during his career and became addicted to opioids. Now 61, McMahon says he hasn’t taken a painkiller in more than a decade.
“I was eating at least 100 percocets a month just to function, to get out of bed,” McMahon said on the AP Pro Football Podcast. “When I moved out here to Arizona, I got my medical marijuana license and I’ve been exclusively using that since and my body feels a hell of a lot better. My mind is a lot clearer. It’s done me wonders.”
Cannabis is a banned substance in the NFL, although rules about players using marijuana were loosened in the latest collective bargaining agreement. Under the most recent labor deal, players who test positive for marijuana are no longer suspended but they can be fined depending on the number of positive tests.
“I think it’s headed in the right direction,” McMahon said. “I used throughout my whole career and I never failed a drug test.”
Question: Our allamanda are overgrown and need to fill in at the base. When can I cut them back?
Answer: Plenty of pruning questions like this one are being received. Now is a good time to check the size and shape of your shrub plantings and do needed pruning. Healthy plants can normally be trimmed to a height a foot or more below the desired size. The width can be reduced in a similar manner. While pruning, remove any winter damage, along with dead and declining growths, to allow new shoots to reform the plant. Some of the oldest stems may also be removed to open up the shrubs a little. Pruning of late winter- and spring-flowering plants like azaleas and camellias can be performed now but is usually delayed until after the blossoms fade.
Q: We have a 3-year-old small grapefruit tree that looks mostly dead with only a few leaves. One nearby looks similar. Is there anything I can do to revive the trees?
A: Save lots of frustration — and most likely a losing battle with citrus greening disease — and replace the trees. No matter what the cause, a tree with only a few leaves is severely struggling and in decline. Citrus trees are susceptible to a number of diseases, but citrus greening is the worst that has caused many to slowly decline. Should you decide to replant, new trees available at garden centers are certified citrus greening-free, but you have to provide lots of care after planting. Frequent fertilizer applications and pest control is needed to keep your trees disease-free.
Q: Brown patch has affected our St. Augustine lawn, and the spray company said they have done all that is possible, but the disease continues. What else can be done?
A: Once brown patch, also called large patch, disease is noticed, it is likely to affect more turf that is infected but not showing symptoms. Sprays can help prevent the disease from affecting still healthy turf, but certain growing conditions can make it susceptible.
Help your spray company beat this disease by watering only when the grass is dry. Overwatering that keeps the turf moist favors the disease. Also, let your company do the fertilizing. Extra fertilizer that
promotes growth at this time of the year encourages brown patch. Here is some good news: Brown patch makes the lawn look bad but seldom kills the turf that recovers in spring.
Some locations with extended moist turf conditions, like between a building or shady morning sites, favor the disease. These should be sprayed each year as a preventative in late October and again 30 days later. Then another spray is applied in early February, following instructions for a product labeled for brown patch control.
Q: Our 4-year-old and 20-feet-tall pink tabebuia tree is not flowering. Is this normal, and what can we do to promote blooms?
A: What you have is a late bloomer, and it is not abnormal. Your tree is large enough to flower, but may not be mature enough. Tabebuia trees like to produce lots of growth and then flower when mature. Trees 5 or 6 years of age may just be ready to bloom. If you are giving your tree lots of extra care, stop! You may be keeping it in a juvenile stage and delaying flowering. Fertilizer applications supplied to nearby lawns and shrubs plantings should be all your tree needs. Also, keep watering to the dry times, as established trees only need extra moisture every few weeks.
Q: So many bougainvilleas nearby are flowering, but mine won’t bloom. What should I do?
A: Put your bougainvillea on a lean diet with minimal care. Neglected plants seem to flower the best, as often seen in deserted home sites. If you are watering regularly, reduce it to only when the soil begins to dry. Keep fertilizing to once in March and May with a slow-release landscape fertilizer or bloom booster-type product. Lastly, let your bougainvillea grow. They flower on new shoots, so the more, the better. Stop all pruning by mid-summer so the shoots can mature by fall, the start of flowering time.
Our azaleas are a few feet tall and healthy but lack foliage at their base. Is there any way to get them to thicken-up?
Immediately after flowering, prune your plants down a foot or more. A photo with your email question showed plants in a shady site but reasonably healthy. The plants should sprout new shoots from the lower stems as they receive more light. Keep the soil moist, maintain a light mulch and check the soil acidity. Adjust the soil pH if recommended from the acidity test. Also, apply a slow-release landscape or azalea fertilizer in March, May, August (if permitted) and early October.
Q: I planted peppers last year that still look good and are producing. I heard they are an annual. Should I remove them and replant?
A: Many pepper and tomato plants seem to grow as long-lived annuals. Gardeners often report plants growing for several seasons and still producing edible fruits. If the plants look healthy and are making good growth, why not keep them to produce the early crop? But, just in case your plants decline early, add a few more new ones to ensure a later harvest.
Tom MacCubbin is an urban horticulturist emeritus with the University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service. Write him: Orlando Sentinel, P.O. Box 2833, Orlando FL 32802. Email: TomMac1996@ aol.com. Blog with Tom at OrlandoSentinel.com/ tomdigs.