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Blue Streaks Can't Catch Bulldogs

Brian Gjurgevich/Highlands Today

Sebring sophomore Devin Clarke 10 drives to the hoop through the defense of DeSoto's Darryl Summerset left, Anthony Rush center and Curtis McIntosh 41 during the Bulldogs' 61-58 victory over the Streaks on Friday night.

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By BRIAN GJURGEVICH

Highlands Today

Published: January 11, 2009

SEBRING - They didn't leave with a victory, but if there's one thing the Sebring boys basketball team can take away from a 61-58 district loss to DeSoto on Friday night, it's that the Blue Streaks are willing to fight until there's zeroes on the scoreboard.

Down 11 points with less than four minutes remaining, the Blue Streaks cut the lead to one point in the final minute, but controversial foul calls and clutch free-throw shooting lifted the Bulldogs to a key win in the Blue Streak gym.

"We felt like we were in it," said Sebring sophomore Devin Clarke, who scored 13 points to lead the Streaks. "Coaches told us to keep our heads and work hard, and we just kept fighting."

Jake Trussell had 12 points (six in the fourth quarter) and Chris Grubb had all 11 of his points in the final frame, as the Blue Streaks played from behind all game and nearly pulled off a furious rally.

Sebring coach Princeton Harris said he had a simple message for his team when they found themselves down double-digits in the waning moments: "Blue Streak pride."

"I told them, 'if you do nothing else I ask you to do, don't quit,' " Harris said. "A game is never lost until the buzzer rings, and we fight until the buzzer rings."

DeSoto's Anthony Rush bookended his game-high 14-point performance with two 3-pointers in the first quarter and two clutch free throws down the stretch, while Jumane Robinson scored 13 points (nine in the fourth) and Curtis McIntosh added 11 points.

The Bulldogs held the Streaks without a field goal in the first quarter, scoring the first eight points and taking a 17-7 lead after one.

But Sebring woke up its crowd and bench early in the second quarter when Robert "Jewel" Campbell followed a Trussell miss with a thunderous dunk to bring Sebring within four with five minutes left in the half. Rejuventated, the Streaks kept the game within two possessions behind two JC Howard steals and scores, and trailed 22-18 at half.

Howard finished with six points and was a sparkplug when Sebring needed it in the second quarter.

"That's why he's in there," Harris said. "He's earned some minutes because he's playing well for us right now, and it's the right time."

The Bulldogs came out firing after the half, hitting three 3-point bombs to take a 10-point lead with less than three minutes remaining in the period. But the Streaks held the Bulldogs without a field goal the rest of the third quarter, and as tempers flared and players were separated in the final seconds of the third, Sebring found itself down 34-32 heading into the fourth.

At the center of the scrap was Grubb, who noted the adversity his team overcame down the stretch.

"We kept fighting and doing what we needed to do," Grubb said. "We just tried to keep going and not let anything we couldn't control get to us."

As the fourth quarter opened up, a defensive test of wills suddenly became a shootout, as both teams nearly doubled their point totals over the first three quarters in the final frame.

DeSoto went up 11 with less than four minutes left, but feisty Sebring got within six with 1:05 left, and cut the lead to 57-54 with 41 seconds remaining after a steal and bucket by Clarke. Another steal led to a breakaway by Nate Orozco, who threw a pretty wraparound pass to a waiting Trussell, who buried the 12-footer and brought Sebring within one point with 37.5 seconds remaining.

Sebring's full-court press wasn't done yet: The Blue Streaks managed one more steal, but Clarke was called for a charge on the ensuing breakaway.

"We were very good at the press," Harris said. "That's something we're going to do and something we're only going to get better at each game."

An intentional foul call followed, and after two clutch free throws by Rush and another by Greg Summers, the Streaks' 3-point attempt in the waning seconds missed the mark and preserved a Bulldog win.

Despite the loss, Harris said he was happy with how his team stuck together down the stretch and didn't fold when DeSoto had multiple chances to put the game away.

"It took a lot of heart and a lot of trust of one another," Harris said. "We made some mistakes and gave them some easy buckets in the last couple of minutes. But we'll get back to the drawing board and make some corrections."

The Streaks are back in action on Friday when they travel to Lemon Bay. They host arch-rival Avon Park at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

"We're right where we want to be," Harris said. "We need to improve on our free throws, and I'll say that until we make them all.

"We need to cut down on turnovers. If we do that, we're going to win some games."

NOTES: Joe Young added eight points and led the Streaks with eight rebounds, while Tevin Toney had four boards ... The Streaks had eight turnovers in the first half and finished the game with 12 ... Howard finished with three steals.

Brian Gjurgevich can be reached at 863-386-5841 or bgjurgevich@highlandstoday.com.

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