Mainland grinds out defensive battle against Rickards, advances to state semifinals
DAYTONA BEACH — Soaking wet after his Mainland Buccaneers doused him with water, Joe Giddens gave his postgame locker-room speech with a pair of scissors in his right hand.
The instrument was a remnant of the Bucs’ celebration a few minutes earlier.
One by one following their 42-36 victory over Rickards in the Region 1-5A finals Friday, they climbed a ladder under one of the baskets in their gym and chopped off pieces of the net. Freshman Kade Manley went first. Giddens went last.
Mainland will return to Lakeland for its second straight 5A state semifinals appearance on March 6. As the two seed, it will take on third-seeded Blake at 5 p.m.
“To have four guys that went to Lakeland last year, then bring in the new guys, to find a way to gel and keep playing the way we did, I’m so proud of the guys,” Giddens said. “They have come together as a group at the right time. That’s what it’s all about.”
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Mainland (22-6) trailed Rickards for the majority of the first half despite jumping out to a 7-3 advantage. The Raiders (23-7) ended the first quarter on a 7-1 run to take their first lead. They extended the margin to 19-9 midway through the second quarter.
Then, it was the Bucs’ turn.
They flipped the momentum with a 9-0 stretch over the final four minutes of the half. Manley sank a 3-pointer with one second left, trimming their deficit to 19-18.
To start the second half, Giddens subbed in junior Seven Simmons for senior Elijah Clark. It was the first time he made that move out of intermission all season.
“The reason why, Elijah Clark was hurt a little bit,” Giddens said. “Seven was playing good defense, and he’s another ball handler. They pressed up on (sophomore Nathan Kirk) and (senior Narayan Thomas) so much. Now, I brought in another ball hander ...
“It changed us.”
Simmons responded by gifting Mainland its first lead since the first quarter.
He converted a layup 30 seconds into the half and helped Mainland’s defense wall up. It didn’t allow a field goal — just two free throws — in the first four minutes. The Bucs stayed ahead the rest of the way.
“Coming off the bench, you have to bring the energy to get the team going,” said Simmons, who tallied five points.
Mainland exploded out of halftime with 10 of the half’s first 12 points. That pushed its lead to 28-21. But Rickards kept it close.
The Raiders scored eight of the next 10 points to pull within one (30-29). After buckets by Mainland senior DeAndre Newland and Thomas, Rickards’ Romie Cosby drilled a long 3-pointer as the third-quarter buzzer sounded.
In the fourth, the Bucs dug in. Their 2-3 zone did not allow a field goal and held the Raiders to only four points, all on free throws.
“Defense, baby,” Giddens said. “When I played, coach (Charles Brinkerhoff) always said, ‘Defense wins championships. Offense sells tickets.’”
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Mainland recorded only one field goal in the period itself, but with that plus six makes from the charity stripe, it clinched its final four spot.
“It’s exciting, of course, but it’s not a new feeling,” Thomas said. “I’m just grateful that God blessed us to be in the position we’re in. (Rickards) played a great game. We just came out on top.”
Nathan Kirk paced the Bucs with 14 points. Manley had nine. Thomas finished with six points, two poster-worthy dunks and a team-high 14 rebounds.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: High school basketball: Mainland books trip to FHSAA boys semifinals
