Winter Haven rolls over Tampa Plant in 7A Region 3 semifinal

WINTER HAVEN, FLORIDA – Winter Haven wanted to start fast and that is exactly what happened.

Winter Haven rolled to a 71-45 win over Tampa Plant on Tuesday at Jack Deedrick Gym in a Class 7A, Region 3 semifinal.

“We wanted to put an emphasis on getting off to a good start,” Winter Haven coach Tyrone Woodside said. “When you get to the second round, you are playing a team that is much better, and you want to make sure that if you have dominance, you show it right away.”

With the win, Winter Haven advanced to the regional final Friday and will host Alonso at 7 p.m. Alonso advanced after topping Lithia Newsome, 63-36. A win would give the Blue Devils their fifth trip to the state tournament under Woodside, which includes their semifinals appearance last year.

“Because of the schedule we have played, there is a feeling of maturity,” Woodside said. “We know that we are really high above the teams in our region, but by playing the Montverdes and understanding that you have to show on the court that you are better, that is something that has stuck with this team. If you are dominant, then be dominant.”

The Blue Devils (25-4) built a 47-16 halftime lead and had a running clock invoked midway through the third quarter.

“We really didn't want to give them life,” Woodside said. “They got here because they were good enough to get to this level. We did not want to leave anything to chance. The boys were locked in early. We put some emphasis on using our size. They did what they were supposed to do, the whole first half.”

Winter Haven was led by Isaac Celiscar and Kjei Parker, both with 18 points. Point guard Jamie Phillips Jr. added 12 and shooting guard Matthew Vaughn added nine.

“In practice all week, we were going hard working on what they were going to do,” Celiscar said. “We came out with energy, and we came out and executed what we had to do. The press helped us a lot.”

Celiscar was on last year’s team which reached the state semifinals, and he feels this year’s Blue Devils are even better.

“I think we are. In the summer we improved our game. Everyone just worked on what they had to work on. We got better individually and that made us better as a team. Our chemistry is there and I think we are pretty confident going into the regional final. We are ready.”

Winter Haven scored the first nine points of the game – four by Vaughn, who opened the game’s scoring with a dunk – which helped build a 19-8 first quarter lead.

Plant (19-11) was led by senior forward Will Willard, who knocked down six 3-point buckets on his way to 18 points. He came into the game averaging 14.1. Also, Drew Tinney and Noah Fishman both scored six points.

Winter Haven has won one state championship, which came 50 years ago this spring when former NBA All-Star Otis Birdsong led the Blue Devils to the 1973 state championship.