Posted on Sat, Mar. 01, 2008

The Class 5A boys' basketball championship game between Dillard and St. Petersburg Lakewood turned into a physical battle, which was expected.

It was just the way Dillard 6-7, 235-pound power forward Bo Reliford liked it.

With the tournament MVP setting the tone inside, Dillard rallied from a seven-point, fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Lakewood 61-55 and capture the Panthers' fifth state title in front of a capacity crowd at The Lakeland Center on Friday night.

The Panthers became the second Broward County team to capture a state championship Friday, following Pine Crest's Class 3A 69-50 victory against Gainesville P.K. Yonge to claim Pine Crest's first state championship in school history.

Broward could possibly bring back four titles over the weekend with Boyd Anderson playing for the Class 6A championship and Sagemont for the 2A crown Saturday.

Friday marked a triumphant return to Lakeland for Dillard (29-2), which suffered a 86-60 loss -- its worst in playoff history -- to Lake Howell in the 5A semifinals a year ago.

''I just wanted it for me and my teammates,'' said Reliford, who scored five of his game-high 21 points in a pivotal fourth-quarter run. ``I knew how they felt when they got here last year and lost. I just wanted to make them happy by getting them the win. If I have to crash the boards or do whatever, fall on the floor and block shots I would do it.''

Dillard 6-8 senior center Kore White had six points, nine rebounds, eight blocks and three steals, and Robert Burger added 12 points. Dillard 6-10 center Nigel Spikes added eight points.

The come-from-behind victory put the Panthers into a three-way tie with Jacksonville Andrew Jackson, Melbourne Florida Air and Sarasota Booker for No. 7 on the all-time state list for championships. Miami High is first with 18 boys' championships.

Title No. 5 and the first since the Panthers' four-peat ended in 2003 -- all under Panthers coach Darryl Burrows -- will undoubtedly stir up talk about where they rank among the greatest programs in Florida history.

Not so for Burrows, who praised his players.

''This one was for the guys who have not gotten one,'' Burrows said. ``Javier, Kore and five of our other kids were here last year. We ran into a buzz saw. That was a great team. Our goal was to get them back here and hopefully things would work out in our favor.''

It did, but not without some late-game heroics. Lakewood took seven-point lead after Clifford Barren's baseline jumper to open the fourth quarter.

But the Panthers fought back behind Reliford, who used his size and jumping ability to dominate the smaller Spartans frontcourt on the offensive glass, picking up nine rebounds.

Reliford started the comeback with a putback off a Sherman Gammage miss and added a free throw after grabbing another offensive rebound to pull Dillard to 47-43 with 4:20 left.

Seconds later, White came up with a steal that led to Robert Burger knocking down a three-pointer in front of the Dillard bench to tie it at 47 with 3:17 left.

''They had some tremendous plays from No. 34 [Reliford] on the inside,'' said Spartans coach Daniel Wright. ``I thought we did a really good job of hanging in there. I think at the very end, the last three or four minutes, the strength of their guys on the inside and the strength of their guards forced us into some mistakes we don't normally make.''

Dillard then went ahead for good on a pair of free throws from White. The Panthers held a tenuous 51-47 lead with 2:02 left when White took a pass from Burger at the top of the key and with four long strides sent home a sweeping dunk to push the lead to six.

White said the dunk made amends for his offensive struggles, which was highlighted by an uncharacteristic 2-of-11 shooting performance.

''I had been playing bad,'' said White, a Marshall University signee. ``It was time to forget all that and finish. That was my mind set when I had the ball.''

• Dillard 61, St. Petersburg Lakewood 55

Lakewood (29-3): Cox 14, Reed 13, Pope 4, Morrison 4, Lane 2, Johnson 6, Gray 4, Green 3, Barren 5.

Dillard (29-2): Reliford 21, Burger 12, Hardy 6, White6, Frazier 5, Gammage 3, Spikes 8.

Halftime: Tied at 26. Three-pointers: Burger 1, Cox 5, Reed 1, Barren 1. Rebounds: White 9, Reliford 9, Pope 10. Assists: Hardy 3. Steals: White 3, Frazier 3. Blocks: White 8, Reliford 2.