With four top-10 teams in the state in this week’s Class 7A District 3 Tournament at Olympia High School, nothing is a given.
So, when coach Ben Witherspoon’s top-seeded Dr. Phillips Panthers found themselves trailing the No. 4-seed Apopka Blue Darters by one point early in the fourth quarter of the district’s semifinal round, he was not surprised.
He was relieved, however, to see his underclassmen-heavy squad respond, rattling off a nine-point swing that defined the final quarter and elevated the Panthers to a 52-44 win – and into the regional playoffs.
“During that time we tightened up.