Todd Foley, Times Correspondent
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
TAMPA — With a reputation of big comebacks, Sarasota Riverview made a bid at another one at Wharton on Tuesday night.
The Wildcats controlled the game on both ends for the first 31/2 quarters but let the Rams cut the lead to five points with less than three minutes to go before finishing strong to win 62-53.
"We knew they were not going to quit," Wharton coach Tommy Tonelli said. "They are a tough team and it was a big win."
The Wildcats were up by 16 points at the start of the fourth quarter before Riverview made its run. The Rams hit five 3-pointers in the quarter and made the last few minutes interesting. Trailing 56-46, Riverview hit a quick layup then Eric Traver hit a deep 3-pointer to cut the lead to five.
Knowing Riverview came from 17 down to knock off Plant last week, Tonelli called timeout to reorganize his team.
"We were just getting a little careless with the ball," Tonelli said. "But we were able to come back and do what we needed to do."
The Wildcats (23-5) fought through the Riverview screens on defense to stop the open 3-pointer, then broke the press a couple of times for some breakaway layups to end the game strong with a 6-2 run.
Wharton's A.J. Astroth led all scorers with 25. Traver was scoreless in the first half but finished with 16 for Riverview.
