Kathleen fights off Lakeland to reach 6A-7 final

LAKELAND — It was Polk County basketball at its best -- or at least best in terms of hard-nosed, intense basketball.

Kathleen nursed a 11-point first-quarter lead and survived Lakeland's furious attack for a 68-61 victory on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the Class 6A, District 7 boys basketball tournament at Kathleen.

The victory sends Kathleen (11-4) into Friday's district championship game against Plant City. Kathleen defeated Plant City twice during the regular season. Last year, Kathleen lost to George Jenkins in the district championship game.

"It's about mental focus," Kathleen coach Andrae Shaw Sr. said. "Mental focus. That's what happened with this team compared to last year is a real mental focus. That's what's special about this year's team. They've been through a lot together with this quarantine and keeping us together, staying focused, not going to your buddy's house, staying home. This team does that real good. I'm proud of them, very proud of them."

Kathleen's game against Lakeland was exactly what Shaw Sr. expected.

"It's an inner-city rival, and when you have an inner-city rival, the records go out the window," Shaw Sr. said. "Those guys know each other. It's about pride, it's about respect, it's about school spirit. You've got to claw and fight."

That's how each team played, especially after the first quarter. Kathleen guard Marcellus Thomas scored 11 of his team-high 23 points in the first quarter to help stake the Red Devils to 20-9 lead. Thomas was clutch in the fourth quarter with eight points from the free-throw line.

"Me and my team, we just wanted to get the win for the seniors because this is their last step," Thomas said. "They're not going to have this again. We got to work every game we've got. We're trying to get to state. We've got to whatever it takes."

Kathleen appeared to be on the verge of running away with the game early in the third quarter when Andrae Shaw Jr. and James Ross hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and Thomas added a free throw to give the Red Devils a 15-point lead, 38-23. 

Shaw Jr. paced Kathleen in the third quarter with nine of his 18 points.

Lakeland (8-9), however, kept fighting back behind Naqwayvviez Glover, who scored 21 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, including 12 points in the third quarter. Burton added 12 points.

The Dreadnaughts nearly came all the way back when Glover's basket at 7:22 of the fourth quarter made it a four-point game.

Lakeland got no closer, however, as Kathleen scored 14 of its 20 points in the fourth quarter from the free-throw line.

The victory clinched a playoff berth for the Red Devils, but they're hoping to bring home a district title, something they couldn't do last year as the No. 1 seed.

"What we learned from that is it's only us out there," Thomas said. "We can't worry about the fans. We can't worry about nobody else. It's just us. We know we're going to be down from the start so we've got to out and work hard from the first quarter all the way to the last buzzer."