Florida High boys basketball embracing improvement, navigating gauntlet schedule

It's been a season of growth for Florida High boys basketball.

The Seminoles (13-9) beat Rickards (15-6) 59-52 on Tuesday night, snapping a two-game losing streak and maintaining its perfect record against area programs this season. With just a few weeks in the season remaining, Florida High is still growing and finding ways to improve.

"We still got room for improvement, which is good," Seminoles coach Charlie Ward said. "We played a perfect first half, but the second half wasn't our best, but we were able to manage and there is some stuff we continue to improve upon."

Leading the Raiders 35-18 at the half, a slow second half allowed the Raiders back into the game, before the Seminoles shut the door late in the fourth quarter.

One of the consistent factors for Florida High in Tuesday's win was the intensity on defense. Recording nine steals and four blocks against Rickards, Ward thinks there is still room for growth defensively but his team is heading in the right direction.

"We've still got a good little way to go, but 52 points is a good number, we've just got to continue to sure up some of the things as far as understanding the game plan and not giving up things that we've talked about," Ward said. "We gotta continue to work, but I'm happy for the guys to pick up a win after tough losses."

Senior guard Terrell "TJ" Baker led the Seminoles Tuesday night, recording 19 points and five rebounds, giving the team a massive boost in the win.

With the win over Rickards, Baker said the Seminole's confidence is high ahead of the postseason.

"Right now we're feeling pretty confident, but we could go higher," Baker said. "This gauntlet that we've gone through, we've learned a lot, we just got to make sure that we apply it to our future games."

Baker was part of the 2021/22 Seminoles team that won a state title, and he said if this year's team wants to find similar success it needs to put together complete games.

"The main thing we got to work on the second half starts because we start off good in the first half, but then it ends up going away in the second half," Baker said. "It feels like it's probably a lack of effort, but we're going to fix that starting tomorrow."

Florida High faces Chipley next at home, playing on Saturday, Jan. 27. Rickards faces Lincoln on the road, with tip-off on Friday, Jan. 26.

Stat Leaders

TJ Baker: 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, one steal

Dakota Morris: 11 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals

Iyran Francis: 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks

Balance, young leadership boosting Godby girls' basketball's bounce-back season

This season’s ascension of Godby girls basketball continued on Tuesday.

The Cougars (14-7) handily defeated the Leon Lions (4-15) 56-31 at the Cougar Den.

Close at the game’s inception, the Cougars pulled away from the Lions and held a 33-14 lead at halftime.

They continued to add to the advantage throughout the game.

Junior point guard Cristina Brown led Godby with a game-high 17 points.

“We’re trying to encourage them to understand consistency,” Cougars head coach Chelsea Johnson Muir said after the victory. “One of the things we’re trying to hone in on is capitalizing on things when we can.”

Balance has been Godby’s strength 21 games into the season.

The Cougars roster features six underclassmen and six upperclassmen.

Moreover, point guard-center Kenijah Clayton and Mar’nazha Johnson duo has led Godby to eclipse its 10 wins from last season.

Clayton, a sophomore, averages a team-high 10.6 points per game. Houston, a senior, has been a beast on the boards, averaging 10.1 rebounds.

But small forwards Aniyah Lewis and Logan Cornelius keep things in order. The sophomores were named the team captains by Johnson Muir.

“It means a lot to me because I have coach’s trust in leading the team,” said Lewis, who scored 14 points on Tuesday. “Our seniors are doing it this year. We work as a team and push each other. No matter the mistakes, we always bond together on the court.

“The balance is good.”

Three games remain for the Cougars before the district tournament.

The Godby girls head to crosstown rival Rickards on Thursday, looking for retribution for its 49-27 blowout loss last month.

“The biggest thing is playing true to who we are,” Johnson Muir said. “We just want to play Godby basketball. And if we do that, it doesn’t matter who it is. We’re going to be ready.”

Next up for Godby: at Rickards, Thursday at 7:30

Next up for Leon: at Florida High, Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney

Gerald Thomas, III covers Florida A&M University Athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at gdthomas@tallahassee.com or on the app formerly known as Twitter @3peatgee.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida High boys, Godby girls basketball programs pickup crucial victories