Mustangs Fall to Gryphons 57-32 in Regional Quarterfinals

On paper, the Mustangs (9-20, 1-3 Class 6A, District 12) never had a chance. The Gryphons (22-6, 10-0 Class 6A, District 11) made sure they never got one.

Lakewood Ranch only trailed by five points at the end of the first quarter of basketball. They even outscored the Gryphons 14-10 in the fourth but Sickles hit three three-pointers to cap a 13-0 run in the second quarter. To make matters worse, junior forward Malcolm Johnson caught fire in the third quarter, scoring 10 of his 18 game-leading points, helping carry Sickles to a 57-32 victory and an appearance in the regional semifinals. They host Palmetto Tuesday at 7 p.m.

"We were pleased with Malcolm tonight; with him we were able to attack the basket and cause problems for them in the paint," said Gryphon head coach Renaldo Garcia

"No one believed we would be in this situation," said Mustang head coach Jeremy Schiller.

The Mustangs suffered though a terrible season that gutted their starting lineup after an 11-8 campaign in 2011. Then it saw their star player, senior center Brian Cobb suffer a knee injury that sidelined him much of the year and left him less than 100 percent for tonight's game.

"I left everything on the court tonight," said Cobb. "They were just the better team."

Cobb finished with 13 of the Mustang's 32 points.

On Thursday night it was Sickles' time to shine.

Junior guard Raymond Santiago stepped into the injured Daniel Harris' spot and contributed 10 points, a few rebounds, an assist and a steal. Santiago hit back-to-back three pointers on the heels of that devastating 13-0 run in the second quarter.

Cobb and junior Cory Adams teamed up to guard senior center Eric Floyd. Neither could slow down the 6-foot-7-inch senior, who went on to score 12 points, pull down five rebounds and even notch an assist.

"I felt like I broke out of my scoring slump tonight," Floyd said. "I'd still been hustling getting rebounds but the points came tonight."