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Red Devils Step Up, Sink Griffins

Chris Hoffman/Highlands Today

Avon Park's Cleveland Nobles splits the Lake Mary Prep defense for an easy lay-up during the second half of Tuesday's game.

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By CHRIS HOFFMAN

Highlands Today

Published: November 27, 2008

AVON PARK - Luther Clemons had his Avon Park boys basketball team arrive to the gym three hours before tip-off against Lake Mary Prep on Tuesday for pizza and an intense film session.

The result of that meeting was a 58-49 Red Devil victory over the Griffins that saw Avon Park push aside the visiting team during a game-changing 12-4 run to open the fourth quarter that pretty much sealed the win.

"I should buy them pizza more often," joked Clemons. "I called them in early to look at last night's Lake Placid game. We watched the tape and they were able to see that we weren't running our offense properly. They saw them hurry shots and make mistakes that they normally don't make.

"It was good for them to see it for themselves, and it showed in their play tonight."

Leading by just five points heading into the fourth quarter against the hot-shooting Lake Mary Prep squad, Avon Park power forward Alonzo Robertson set the tone and got the gym on its feet with a one-handed slam to open the quarter, which ignited the run that saw the Red Devils sinking their free throws to build a 14-point lead.

Avon Park went 10 for 13 during the run and finished the game with an astounding 70 percent (21 of 30) from the charity stripe, which gave them all the ammo they needed, as Robertson closed out the show with another rim-rattling dunk.

Center Cleveland Nobles, who finished with a team-high 18 points, feels his team is in a lot better shape than last season and is excited about how his team handled the pressure from the Griffins.

"Last year, it took a long time to win, so to win this early feels really good," Nobles said. "Lake Mary Prep gave us a lot of different looks that we normally don't see from teams in our district, so that is an advantage for us if we see that style again."

The 3-pointer was Lake Mary Prep's best friend against a tenacious Avon Park defense, as the Griffins sank eight from beyond the arch for the game and led for most of the first half.

Chris Suris hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Lake Mary Prep a five-point advantage and forcing Clemons to call a timeout.

"We were aware that they were a good 3-point shooting team and Suris knocked down some wide open shots," Clemons said. "I just told the guys to keep up the pressure and don't let them get any uncontested shots."

After a pair of free throws by Nobles, Tekovan Miller sank a 12-footer and then tied the game at 28 with a long-range bomb of his own, as the Red Devils were down by just a point at the half.

Robertson powered his way inside for a pair of hoops to open the third to give Avon Park a 33-30 lead - a lead they wouldn't relinquish, as the Red Devils switched to a 1-3-1 defense to negate the 3-point shot of the Griffins, who hit just two from long distance the rest of the way.

"They were killing us with the three's, but we made some adjustments and took away one of their main weapons," Avon Park's Avierre Conner said. "That forced them to go inside, where our big men could clam down on the middle."

The defensive switched worked for the Red Devils as the Griffins' scoring output was cut in half and Avon Park took a 42-37 lead into the fourth quarter.

Forward Kyle Tazioli kept his team in the game by scoring seven of his team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter, but the Griffins would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Conner's performance at running the point has been the difference for the Red Devils this season, as the sophomore has a solid understanding of the offense and when to shoot or give up the ball.

"Coach sat me down before the season and told me that I was ready to lead this team," Conner said. "I try to go out and get other people involved. Tonight, my job was to get Cleveland and Alonzo going early and that helped us put pressure on their defense and open up shots for the guys on the perimeter.

"We've still got work to do, but we've got all the tools to play with anyone in or out of our district."

Avon Park is back on the court Friday when they travel to play First Academy of Orlando with their next home game on Tuesday against Class 4A-District 10 foe Braden River.

Both games begin at 7:30 p.m.

Chris Hoffman can be reached at 863-386-5837 or choffman@highlandstoday.com

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