Local Sports

Ridge bolts to victory

Photos

Allen Moody | Highlands Today
Published: December 1, 2012

SEBRING - The Sebring Blue Streaks dug themselves an early hole and then spent the rest of the game trying to claw their way out of it in Thursday's 65-55 loss to Ridge.

Ridge scored the first six points of the game and after the Blue Streaks cut the lead to 6-4 on free throw by Quantrae Rouse and a 3-pointer by Decaris Jones, the Bolts went on a 13-0 run that left Sebring playing catch-up.

Sebring trailed 25-8 after the first quarter, but scored the first seven points in the second quarter to pull within 10, only to see Ridge go on a 13-2 run to push the lead to 21 and settle for a 38-22 halftime lead.

The Blue Streaks had all sort of problems with Ridge's full-court press, committing 23 turnovers in the first half.

Sebring's Terrell Williams said it's different going up against a press in a game situation than it is in practice.

"They're a lot faster, so you have to see things quicker and not put the ball down," he said. "You have to look first and check your options before you put it on the ground."

The Blue Streaks came out hard in the second half and were able to quickly get into the bonus situation, as the Bolts were whistled for seven fouls in just over three minutes, but Sebring didn't do itself any favors, going just 12 for 32 from the foul line.

"You're not going to win ball games like that in any shape, form or fashion," Sebring coach Princeton Harris said of his team's free throw shooting.

But the one thing the Blue Streaks did is battle. Six straight points by Sebring's Luke Ancrum cut the lead to 12.

"I think the kids came out in the second half and played hard and staggered them a little bit there," Harris said.

Another Ridge run pushed the lead back to 18, but the Blue Streaks were able to trim the Bolts' lead to 11 on several occasions, although Sebring couldn't get within 10 points until Williams hit a 3-pointer in the waning seconds.

"We started off a little slow and then we came back a little bit and got it together," Williams said. "We were playing helter-skelter a little bit in the beginning, but then we got it back. We started running our offense and getting some looks inside."

Sebring took better care of the basketball in the second half.

"We had a lot of turnovers in the first half and we cut that down to less than half in the second half," Williams said. "We had 23 and then finished with eight in the second half. We just need to cut down our turnovers."

Harris said he had no complaints with the effort, although the execution, at times, was something that he felt could have been better.

"I liked the fight that we had," Harris said. "We could have just gone in a corner and laid down when they had a 20-point lead, but they kept fighting and fighting and then we'd shoot ourselves in the foot."

Harris said a number of players looked solid.

"Luke Ancrum is going to be big for us," he said. "Conner Cook is just a freshman, Ezell Gammage is only in his second year of playing basketball and Decaris is just being Decaris out there."

Jones led the Blue Streaks with 16 points and Ancrum had 10 points and 10 rebounds before being whistled for his fifth foul early in the fourth quarter.

"I saw a lot of positives," Harris said. "I'm happy."

The Blue Streaks visit Lake Region on Monday.

amoody@highlandstoday.com (863) 386-5841