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Streaks Tame Tigers For Title

MARK PINSON/Highlands Today

Sebring's Jake Trussell looks to pass the ball past Palmetto's Reggie Brooks (2) during the first quarter of Saturday night's Class 4A-District 10 finals at DeSoto High School.

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By Mark  Pinson | Highlands Today

Published: February 16, 2009

ARCADIA - The young and the old led the way for Sebring in Saturday night's Class 4A-District 10 finals against Palmetto.

Junior forward Joe Young scored a game-high 17 points and senior guard Chris Grubb added 16, including two key 3-point shots late in the game to lift the Blue Streaks to a thrilling 53-49 win over the Tigers.

Winning the district championship, Sebring's first since 2005, earned the Blue Streaks a home game in Thursday night's regional quarterfinals against District 9 runner-up Lakeland Kathleen.

"This is the greatest thing ever,' said Grubb. "We did our best and I'm glad we were able to pull this one out.

"We've come a long way as a team and if we stay focused, play hard and cut down on our turnovers, we can play with any team."

Young, who battled the flu the past week, bounced back from a poor game against Hardee in Friday night's semifinals with an outstanding effort against Palmetto.

"I knew I had to step up and play big against Palmetto," said Young. "I was sick all week, but I just sucked it up and went out and played as hard as I could for my teammates.

"I've never won any kind of championship and it feels so good to finally win one."

Palmetto, the No. 1-seed, took a 12-9 lead after the first quarter as Reggie Baity scored five of his 10 points.

The Tigers continued to get numerous second-chance baskets with strong rebounding and guard Donald Campbell scored four of his team-high 12 points to give Palmetto a 22-19 lead at the half.

Sebring, the No. 3-seed, came out with renewed energy to open the second half as Young, who also pulled down 13 rebounds, scored seven points in the paint and Grubb added six as the Blue Streaks raced out to a 39-30 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

"Palmetto got into some foul trouble and that opened up the inside for me," said Young. "They didn't have anyone that could stop me, so I just worked hard to get good position and took the ball to the hoop."

Palmetto refused to fold as Campbell scored six points and Tarvin Martin added six as the Tigers took a 45-44 lead with under three minutes remaining.

Sebring regrouped as Grubb buried a 3-pointer from the left wing.

Palmetto had two good looks to tie the game, but neither shot fell and the Blue Streaks pulled down the rebound and Grubb went the length of the floor for a layup for a 49-45 lead with 30.3 seconds remaining.

Tevin Toney iced the game with a pair of free throws to seal the hard-fought win and the district championship for Sebring.

"This is a great feeling," said Blue Streak coach Princeton Harris. "I'm so proud of the guys because they worked hard and put in a lot of effort to reach this point.

"They busted their butts, never quit and did a heck of a job against a good Palmetto team."

Sebring now has the home court advantage for Thursday night's game against Lakeland Kathleen, which lost to Bartow on Saturday night.

"We're going to enjoy this win for a couple of days, but then we've got to get back to work," said Harris. "We've got the home court and our fans, but we have to come out with the same kind of effort and intensity that we did tonight.

"If we stay patient and don't turn the ball over we should be in good shape."

Mark Pinson can be reached at 863-386-5837 or mpinson@highlandstoday.com

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