Chargers Cruise Past Streaks

SEBRING - Taking care of the ball will most definitely be a resolution for the new year for the Sebring boys basketball team, which coughed up 24 turnovers in a 58-45 loss to the Suncoast Chargers in the late game of the Jim Taveniere Holiday Tournament on Thursday.

A very physical Charger squad muscled Sebring for position and an effective half-court press forced the Blue Streak guards to pick up their dribble early and turnovers inevitably were the result, going down 17-4 early in the opening stanza.

"They were a very rough team and the referee's set the tone by letting us play," Sebring shooting guard Chris Grubb said. "[Suncoast] is a really good team and they did a great job of closing down the middle and forcing us to take outside shots.

"They're press defense and a lot of mental mistakes on our part caused us to get behind early, but I thought we did a good job getting back in the game."

The Streaks 16-2 surge between the first and second quarters was compliments of an aggressive full-court defense and the hot hand of forward Sam Robinson, who scored Sebring's first seven points of the second to give the home team a 20-19 advantage, but the lead would be short-lived.

Good ball handling and movement without the ball allowed Suncoast to find the open man for easy shots in ending the half on an 11-4 run and a six-point lead.

Even with the lapse at the end of the half, Sebring head coach Princeton Harris was happy with his team's play but could do without the turnovers and silly mistakes.

"We've got to be more aggressive," Harris said. "I don't think we wanted to play a physical game and that's what the ref's are giving us. I told my kids that you don't have to play dirty to play physical.

"We just have to take care of the ball better."

Flat would best describe how the Streaks came out for the second half, as the Chargers schooled Sebring during a 12-2 run that included Suncoast scoring the first eight points of the half.

The Streaks couldn't buy a basket, as they launched bad shots and were unable to keep up with the relentless attack by the Chargers, who held the home team to six points in the third and breezed to the 13-point win.

Suncoast was paced by center Christopher Williams with a game-high 22 points, while guard Dion Watson scored 14 points and Vaughn Rose chipped in with eight points for the Chargers.

Playing quality competition during the tournament is something that Harris relished as the Streaks get closer to the district tournament, but more holes sprung up in Sebring's ship against Suncoast.

"I really feel that playing better teams makes you a better team," Harris said. "But we have to play with much more intensity. I don't know if this was just a holiday hangover, but I hope we play a lot better tomorrow."

With the loss, Sebring played Gateway on Friday with results not available at press time.

The most telling stats in the game was the lack of ball movement and too much one-on-one style of play, with the Streaks notching a mere 4 assists and only 12 rebounds as a team.

Robinson and Grubb led the way for Sebring with both scoring nine points, while T.J. Williams finished with six points in the loss.