Gibbons boys win

Cardinal Gibbons coach Marcy Meyer and her players agreed on one thing at Wednesday's practice:

They wanted to practice again. On the court at Thursday's regional final, they made sure of something else:

They will.

''We're very glad that [Wednesday] was not our last practice,'' Meyer said.

Apparently, practice is enjoyable when you're shooting for the state tournament. And that is exactly what the Chiefs (26-1) are doing, after the hosts claimed the District 9 title with an 18-25, 25-21, 25-21, 18-25, 15-10 victory over rival St. Thomas Aquinas.

Or maybe it is just because Thursday's game made practice look easy.

Just like the 2007 district final, the 2008 version needed all five games to decide the winner of a match that senior Josh Nirenberg called ``the most intense game I've ever played in any sport.''

The Raiders (23-4) ''took the momentum right away,'' coach Mike DiPierro said, capitalizing on a series of Cardinal Gibbons mistakes to win 25-18. They then took a 14-10 lead in the second game, appearing on their way toward giving their third-year coach his first season-ending victory over the team -- and coach -- for whom he played for in the late 1990s.

But after a Meyer timeout, the Chiefs appeared reborn.

''We're a very consistent team,'' senior John T. Downs said, ``and we don't let negativity get to us.''

Said Meyer: ''We didn't have our rhythm going, and I knew that was all we needed to do,'' Meyer said. ``So I told them to just work it, just get our game going, and they'll be all right.

``And that's what they did.''

A 14-10 deficit turned into a 19-15 lead, then a 25-21 win, then another 25-21 win. But the Raiders weren't done -- they claimed 11 of game four's last 16 points for a 25-18 win, forcing the decisive showdown.

Then experience took over, with the Chiefs -- district champs every year since 2005, when they went undefeated and won the state title -- jumping ahead 7-2 and never allowing the Raiders to get closer than two in a 15-10 elimination-game victory.

NOTEBOOK

• Sharlene Ferguson, who along with Richard Walker led South Broward to the FHSAA Class 6A girls basketball title in February, has been selected BCAA Southern Division Coach of the Year. Ferguson will receive her award at the BCAA Scholar Athlete banquet May 5 at the Signature Grand in Davie. Ferguson was previously named the 2008 Florida Dairy Farmers Class 6A Coach-of-the-Year and finished second in the overall coach-of-the year balloting.

• Boyd Anderson 6-4 shooting guard Frank Gaines signed with Indiana Purdue-University Fort Wayne on Thursday. This past season the lefty averaged a career-high 15.2 points and 6.6 rebounds to help the Cobras advance to the 6A state Finals and finish 30-2, the best in history. As evidenced by his 48 three-pointers and 50 percent shooting, Gaines gives the Mastodons a player that can stretch the defense.

-- FABIAN LYON

Nearly three dozen athletes from northern Broward County won college scholarships of at least $1,000 apiece this week at the annual Broward County Athletic Association Scholar Athlete awards ceremony.

''We want athletes others can look up to, athletes who can serve as mentors and examples of what can be achieved,'' said Damian Huttenhoff, director of athletics and student activities for Broward County Schools. ``This is a wide variety of student with two commonalities: they've participated in varsity sports and they've excelled in the classroom.''

The Scholar Athletes for South Broward will be awarded Monday.

Following are the scholarship winners from North Broward:

• BCAA Speaker's Award: Joanna Gardner, Coconut Creek High. Sun-Sentinel: Meaghan Bresnahan, Cardinal Gibbons; Katie Afflerback, Coconut Creek; Kelsey Abel, Pompano Beach. McKinley Financial: Ellen Degnan, Deerfield Beach; Chastity Holiday, Northeast; Danielle Martin, Douglas; Nick Booker-Tandy, Blanche Ely.

• Broward Health: Christine Roy-McMahon, Fort Lauderdale; Dana Hatic, Coral Springs; Timothy Gaffud, Boyd Anderson; Dana Bell, Plantation. Pepsi Americas: Ariel Deray, Piper. M-F Athletics: David Quintero, Fort Lauderdale; Matt Buchko, Taravella. BCAA Service Learning: Kristen Farber, Coral Springs; Nathaniel Foster, Coral Glades; John Hardardt, Monarch.

• Superintendent's Award: Ambar Mehta, Taravella; Jennifer Lettman, Boyd Anderson; Robert Cusmano, Deerfield Beach; Fred Benzenhafer, Northeast. BCAA Scholarships: Cameron Paterson, Douglas; Devon Nicole Bellmore, Piper. Websters Team Sports: Brittany Page, Coconut Creek; Melanie Lyon, Coral Springs; Sasha Wong, Blanche Ely. Herff Jones: James Ghattas, Pompano Beach. Arena Advertising: Ariel Urban, Cardinal Gibbons; Callie Hannan, Monarch.

• Miami Dolphins: Sean Brumfield, Blanche Ely; Ken Leon, Fort Lauderdale; Kristian Schafer, Plantation. Kreul Classic: Shane Pettus, Coral Glades. World's Fastest Humans, Inc.: Thonide Aristide, Deerfield Beach.

-- SUSAN MILLER DEGNAN