Sports
Gibbs Stops Sanchez, Northeast to End Vikings Season
Northeast High School boys basketball star Andres Sanchez was held to just four free throws in the first half as Gibbs ended Northeast's fairy tale of a postseason.
The hex that Gibbs has on Northeast star Andres Sanchez continued Tuesday.
The last time the two teams met for a district title, Gibbs held Sanchez scoreless in the first half while racing to a 63-45 win. Tuesday the Gladiators held Sanchez to a mere four free throws in the first half and 15 points for the game.
The result was similar: Gibbs won, 62-39, ending Northeast's surprising post-season run two wins short of a state title berth, falling in a Class 5A region semifinal.
"He's a great player we know so we have to contest every shot and put a body on him," Gladiators coach Larry Murphy said of team's ability to shut down Sanchez.
When the Vikings scored their biggest wins of the season, it was largely due to a big night from Sanchez. He poured in 27 when Northeast rallied from 16, down late to upset Boca Ciega. He killed Clearwater with 35 points, including the dagger-to-the-heart .
"Sanchez is the type of player that if you don't get a body on him and box him out he will get every rebound," Murphy said. "We just tried to make it tough on him for 32 minutes."
The Gladiators didn't need that long. Playing Gibbs, a team manned by taller than normal players who are quick on their feet, seemed to be Sanchez's kryptonite. When the Vikings started to show some life early in the third quarter to make a game of it, Gibbs quickly took back control.
"Their length poses some match up problems for us," Sanchez said. "They kind of condense on the floor, which makes the floor smaller for us to deal with.
"I thought we played as hard as we could."
Of course, the loss couldn't be pinned solely on Sanchez. Gibbs' defense was ferocious, forging the Vikings into a turnover machine. The Gladiators all but shut off passing lanes, thereby preventing Sanchez from even getting the ball on many trips down the floor.
"He takes a lot upon himself and may have pressed too much," Northeast coach Dave Redding said of Sanchez. "Normally, he has good nights against good teams. I know [Gibbs is] tall and angular. When you put five tall, angular guys on one player, you don't stand a chance.
"We just didn't play well. The second quarter, the game got away from us. We threw away too many passes. We knew we had to pass the ball to the red shirts and not the white shirts but we made a lot of passes to the white shirts. They whipped us. Fair and square, they whipped us."
