Dwyer routs Palm Bay 91-55
February 27, 2011
Dwyer had everything its opponent didn’t.
Height, quickness and talent were too much for Melbourne-Palm Bay as the Panthers rolled to a 91-55 victory in a Class 5A regional final at Dwyer High on Saturday.
The Panthers (30-1) advance to Friday’s state semifinal at the Lakeland Center against Fort Walton Beach. It’s Dwyer’s third consecutive trip to the Final Four and seventh overall. They won state titles in 2004 and 2005.
Despite the victory, Dwyer coach Fred Ross wasn’t completely pleased with his team’s play, especially the fouls committed.
“I was worried coming off an emotional win against Dillard that we wouldn’t take this team as seriously,” Ross said. “I’m not sure if we really mentally focused, but we got the win . An ugly win was good.”
Palm Bay coach Joe Duffy was quite persuaded how good Dwyer is.
“This is the reason that they are ranked No. 1,” Duffy said. “We knew we had to play our best basketball. Dwyer played hard and the better team won.”
Victor Adams led the Panthers with 20 points and Jacoby Brissett contributed 17 points, nine rebounds, nine steals and seven assists.
“The fouls took us out of our offensive rhythm,” Adams said. “The defense helped create points for us tonight.”
Dwyer dominated the Pirates on the offensive end, despite one of its top players, senior forward Gregory Louis, being in foul trouble much of the game. Louis was held to three points through the first three quarters. He finished with eight points before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
“There were a lot of fouls, but we did what we had to do,” said Dwyer guard Montel Williams, who scored 11 points. “It’s nice to get the final four, but this time we need to win it.”
The 20-8 first-quarter lead was not indicative of what the Panthers were capable of. Dwyer committed seven turnovers and shot just 8-of-20 from the field.
Full-court pressure defense was valuable for the Panthers in disrupting the Pirates’ offense. They held Palm Bay without a basket until 3:27 left in the quarter. Palm Bay (21-8) didn’t get its second basket until 4:05 left in the second quarter.
Steve Hughes led Palm Bay with 21 points.
“It’s always nice to get back to the Final Four,” Ross said. “We just need to get a little further this time.”
