Sebring's Robinson Sparks Late Rally Against Gateway

SEBRING - "Get on my shoulders and lets win this game."

Those words echoed from the Sebring boys basketball bench, as senior forward Sam Robinson gave the orders to his team and went on to score six points late in the game to lift the Streaks to a 44-41 comeback win over the Kissimmee Gateway Panthers in the second round of the Jim Taveniere Holiday Tournament on Friday.

Down 37-31, Robinson's 3-pointer ignited cheers from the Sebring faithful and back-to-back steals gave the Blue Streaks the momentum to score the game's final eight points in a win in front of the home crowd.

"Its always good to win, but I sure wish we could learn to play with a lead instead of constantly having to come from behind," Sebring head coach Princeton Harris said. "I'm really proud of this team. They showed me that they have a lot of pride and fought until the very end."

Robinson was the gasoline that made the Sebring engine race, knocking down five 3-pointers on the night to finish with a game-high 20 points against a Panther team that double and sometime triple-teamed him.

"They tried to get the ball out of my hands, but I kept fighting to get my shot," Robinson said. "I was off in yesterday's game [against Suncoast] and I wanted to pull through for my team today."

Harris smiled when asked about his star forward's performance after the game.
"When he's on, he's amazing," the SHS head coach said. "He put this team on his back and willed us to a win tonight."

The will to win seemed to be on Sebring's side in the early going, as Robinson hit back-to-back 3-pointers at the midway point of the opening stanza, as the Streaks built an 11-2 lead after one, before the see-saw began to tilt.

The Panthers pounced on a Sebring squad that went ice cold from the field, scoring 14 unanswered points to open the second quarter and take a five-point lead. Robinson's 3-pointer with 2:42 left in the half was the Streak's first points of the quarter. Another Robinson trey cut the Gateway lead to three at the half.

The Panthers clamped down on Robinson and played good interior defense to push Sebring's shooters to the perimeter, where they weren't as effective. Offensive rebounds kept the home team in the game, with 15-of-28 rebounds on the offensive glass during the see-saw second half before Sebring made the run to win the game.

Turnovers still were a problem (15 turnovers), but a significant improvement over Thursday's performance (24 turnovers) against Suncoast.

"I still want to cut our turnovers way down before the district tournament starts," Harris said. "We have to come to play every night."

Sebring guard Chris Grubb and center Nathaniel Oroscow both finished with seven points, while Joe Young pulled down five rebounds for the Streaks.

Sebring faced Mulberry in the consolation game on Saturday. Results were not available at press time.

Mulberry Rolls Past Red Devils

SEBRING - Avon Park has told the same story a dozen times this season, coming so close to winning, but can't finish the job.

The Red Devils boys basketball team tied the score at 58 with less than four minutes left to play, but turnovers and cold shooting handed the Mulberry Panthers a 69-64 win in the Jim Taveniere Holiday Tournament on Friday.

With the score tied late in the game, Mulberry took a four-point lead on a pair of free throws and a nice shot from forward Lee Amos.

Avon Park point guard Virgil Cooper was lightning down the court off the inbounds, slashing to the basket before dishing off the center Cleveland Nobles, who hit the layup and cut the lead to a deuce.
A dagger in the shape of a 3-pointer by Panther guard Tony Brown pushed the Mulberry lead to 65-60 with two minutes left in the game and the Red Devils would get no closer than three the rest of the way.

Avon Park head coach Luther Clemons and his team were nearly speechless after the loss, as they watched another winnable game slip through their fingers.

"We can play better," Clemons said. "That's all I have to say tonight."

The Red Devils finished with three players in double figures, with Nobles scoring a game-high 20 points, while Cooper finished with 19 points and Stephen Johnson adding 10 points for Avon Park.

Mulberry's Travan Sampson had the hot hand, scoring 19 points, including nine of the Panther's 11 points in the first quarter for a six-point opening quarter advantage.

With the loss, Avon Park faced Kissimmee Gateway on Saturday. Results were not available at press time.