DP boys hoops extends win streak to six with 71-49 win at Boone

ORLANDO — It was just under two years ago, but Dr. Phillips senior guard David Stephen can still remember the first time he played a varsity basketball game at the Boone High School gym.

It didn’t go well.

“Two years ago, my sophomore year, I remember coming here in this gym and I did not hit a shot whatsoever,” Stephen recalled. “I made a promise to myself that I’m going to ball out tonight.”

The senior guard for the Panthers followed through on that promise, scoring 26 points for Dr. Phillips as the Panthers poured it on Boone in the second half to score a 71-49 district victory on Thursday night.

Dr. Philllips (12-7) outscored the Braves (14-5) 39-25 in the second half, a decided momentum shift that began in the waning moments of the second quarter as the Panthers went on an 8-0 run going into halftime to lead 32-24.

“That was big,” Dr. Phillips coach Anthony Long said, reflecting on the run to close out the first half. “It’s a tight, evened-up game and it was big to give us momentum going into halftime. That was good for our psyche.”

Stephen’s 26 points paired nicely with 18 from senior forward Jonathan Laurent. 

The win makes it six in-a-row for the Panthers, who are undefeated in 2015, and afterward, Laurent said that the key on Thursday was much the same as it has been throughout Dr. Phillips’ recent win-streak — defense.

“When we went into halftime, our coach gave us a speech and let us know what we’ve been doing the past couple games as we’ve been on this win-streak — (and) it just clicked,” Laurent said. “We started playing defense and the momentum started and we started scoring; we started getting stops.”

The Panthers will return home to host Timber Creek on Friday at 7:30 p.m.