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Sebring Holds Down LP In Boys Hoops

Brian Gjurgevich/Highlands Today

Sebring's Chris Grubb left and Jewell Campbell share a laugh on the bench during the Blue Streaks' victory over Lake Placid on Tuesday.

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Highlands Today Staff Report

Published: December 10, 2008

Updated:

LAKE PLACID - Joe Young scored a team-high 16 points, Devin Clarke added 14 and the Sebring boys basketball team pressured Lake Placid from the opening tip on Tuesday, as the Streaks breezed past the Green Dragons 69-42 in a clash of cross-county rivals.

"We slowed them down and ran on them from the beginning," said Young, who added five rebounds. "Then we got the run-and-gun going and that didn't let them set up their defense."

Sebring coach Princeton Harris said pressuring the ball wasn't a one-time strategy: He wants his team to come out with the same intensity they displayed in the opening minutes every night.

"I really wanted to work on mastering our press and that helped us jump out to a big lead early," SHS head coach Princeton Harris said. "We scored points quick off the press and the boys did a good job of flying to the ball and they moved well without the ball that set up some good scoring chances.

"That was the type of intensity and execution that I want to see on a nightly basis from this group."

Lake Placid coach David Veley said the turnovers caused by the Sebring press (the Dragons finished with 17 giveaways) were frustrating, and that he wasn't happy with how his team responded.

"That press, intimidation was all it was," Veley said, noting his team's rebounding was also sub-par. "We talked about it the last three days and knew it was coming and prepared for it. But we got out there and went into panic mode.

"We've got to quit that, we've got to be ready to play in the opening quarter."

Sebring streaked out to a 16-1 advantage and led 32-6 after the first quarter.

Jake Trussell scored 10 points before going out in the second half with a cut over his eye and senior JC Howard chipped in with nine points in the win. Mike Hankerson and Spencer Caton added seven points each in the win, while Jewel Campbell led the Streaks with six rebounds and Nate Orozco led Sebring with seven assists.

Andre Wilson led the way for the Green Dragons with 15 and Avery Young had 11 points, including a trio of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for the home team.

Clarke hit two 3-pointers in the opening frame held the Streaks jump out to the big lead. After having what he called "an off night" during Sebring's previous game, the sophomore was happy to get his shot back.

"I was feeling it," he said, noting the team is happy with the win, but realizes they need to focus on running their set offense if they want to have success in district. "We were running, but sometimes we have to slow ourselves down. It's hard, but we can do it."

Young agreed, noting he's been working on his game in the paint.

"I'm working on getting rhythm in my post moves," Young said. "When you take a shot, you've got to have confidence in it."

Sebring is back in action on Friday when they face district foe Braden River, while Lake Placid travels to play Vanguard on Saturday.

Both games begin at 7:30 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER: Lake Placid 5, Mulberry 0

Erica Resindez and Yudi Terrones each scored two goals and Julie Shrewsberry made an immediate impact when moved from defense to midfield in a 5-0 shutout over Mulberry in a Class 4A-District 10 clash at Roger Scarborough Memorial Field on Tuesday.

Shrewsbury, who returned after serving a two-game suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, assisted on two goals and scored in the second half after Merlo made the switch.

"We mixed some things up tonight and used some different lineups that will hopefully work to our advantage later in the season," LP head coach John Merlo said. "We beat Mulberry 6-0 last time we played them so I thought this gave us an opportunity to mix some things up. We played well together and it's nice to have girls that can play multiple positions on the field.

"You never know when injuries will strike your team so we experimented with players in different positions. Julie gave us some more speed up front and another scoring lineup that teams will have to deal with."

Lake Placid, who improved to 5-0-1 overall and 3-0 in the district, plays its next game on the road Friday when they face district foe McKeel Academy.

Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

BOYS BASKETBALL: Booker 48, Avon Park 38

SARASOTA - Avon Park played well early and took an eight-point lead into the locker room at half time, but the Red Devils failed to match that intensity in a 48-38 loss to Sarasota Booker in a Class 4A-District 10 match on Tuesday.

Booker's Stone Holloway scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the second half to the lead the Tornadoes to their first win of the season.

Avon Park is back in action on Friday when they host district foe DeSoto. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER: Sebring 1, DeSoto 0

SEBRING - Amanda Grimaldo scored the game's only goal in the second half and made five solid saves in goal to lead the Streaks to a 1-0 victory over the Bulldogs in a Class 4A-District 10 match at Firemen's Field on Tuesday.

"There were a lot of good performances from so many girls tonight," said SHS head coach Steve Ashley. "Karrie Lester and Riki Albritton gave me everything they had and Amanda Grimaldo gave us the offensive punch we needed to get this key district win."

Sebring is back in action on Thursday when they travel to face Booker, with game time set for 6 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER: Sebring 0, DeSoto 0

SEBRING - Ryan Cochran is making an early bid for player of the year honors, as the Sebring goalie made 12 saves to help the Streaks to a scoreless tie against DeSoto in a Class 4A-District 10 match-up at Firemen's Field on Tuesday.

"We played extremely well tonight and our defense really stepped it up a notch," Sebring head coach Tim Boulay said. "Ryan played solid in goal for us as he has all season."

Sebring is back on the field Thursday when they travel to face Booker in another district clash.

Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Sebring 51, Frostproof 17

FROSTPROOF - Shannon Williams scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Sebring to a 51-17 blowout win over Frostproof on Tuesday.

Senior Hannah Shoop had a solid game overall with 12 points and seven rebounds to go along with a team-high six steals.

"This was a good game where everybody had a chance to play," SHS head coach Mike Lee said. "The girls played with a lot of energy and I liked that we had a chance to give our bench girls the opportunity to get some much-needed playing time."

Jerica Moore added six points for the Streaks who grabbed 35 rebounds and dished out 17 assists as a team against the Bulldogs.

Sebring is back on the court Friday when they travel to face Braden River in a key district match-up.

Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER: Mulberry 3, Lake Placid 0

MULBERRY - The Lake Placid boys soccer team had a rough first half on their way to a 3-0 defeat to district foe Mulberry on Tuesday.

"We came out flat," said LP coach Josh Virkler. "We've only had one game where we put together two halves of good soccer."

The Dragons, who fell to 1-4 overall and 1-3 in district, host a district match with McKeel on Friday. Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

BOYS SOCCER: Booker 8, Avon Park 2

SARASOTA - Lushane Denton and Kemar Swaby both scored to give Avon Park an early lead, but it wouldn't hold, as Booker walked away with an 8-2 victory in a Class 4A-District 10 match on Tuesday.

"No matter the score, we played with much more aggression and communicated better on the field tonight than we did when we played them at our place last week," said AP head coach Craig Morris. "We got more shots-on-goal and all we have to do is get some more of those shots to find the net."

Illness and injury depleted Morris' roster from 22 to 13 players on the road trip that saw the Red Devils take a 2-1 lead after Swaby's goal at the halfway point in the first half.

"We were just so tired from our lack of subs that we couldn't keep the pace up and Booker took advantage," Morris said.

Avon Park hosts Sebring in a key district and rivalry match on Friday. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

GIRLS SOCCER: Booker 1, Avon Park 0

SARASOTA - Avon Park's leading scorer Ch'quen Wilmot had several scoring chances in the first half, but a leg injury left her sitting on the bench in the Red Devil's 1-0 loss to Sarasota Booker in a Class 4A-District 10 clash on Tuesday.

Wilmot has scored Avon Park's only two goals this season and has been playing solid offensively to become a major weapon for the Red Devils.

Avon Park will host arch-rival Sebring on Friday with game time set for 6 p.m.

GIRLS BASKETBALL: Lake Placid vs. Okeechobee cancelled

OKEECHOBEE - The Lake Placid girls basketball team's meeting with Okeechobee on Tuesday night was cancelled. The Dragons are back in action on Friday, when they face Mulberry. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

The Highlands Today sports department can be reached at 863-386-5841 or sports@highlandstoday.com.

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