Palmetto Knocks Out Sebring Despite Late Scoring Surge

PALMETTO - Sam Robinson grimaced and Palmetto's Norman Haynes pumped his fist in the air after draining a 3-pointer at the buzzer before halftime, a shot that turned out to be a tell-tale sign for the Sebring boys basketball team.

The host Tigers pounced on the sluggish Streaks 88-71 in the opening round of the Class 4A-District 10 tournament on Tuesday, sending the Sebring home much earlier than they'd hoped.

"We had the talent to make a run at a state title," Robinson said. "I just thought this was the year. I know I'll look back on this year and wonder what could've been."

Close calls and controversial plays plagued the Blue Streaks in a game where numerous calls were overturned in favor of the host team.

"I've had this problem over here before," said Sebring head coach Princeton Harris. "It's the same thing every time we come here, but that's no excuse for the way we played tonight.

"It shouldn't have come down to some calls by the officials. This was a bad way to end the season."

For Palmetto, the strategy was simple: Guards Donald "Soup" Campbell and senior Bryan Smith played a version of two-on-five, slipping past the Sebring defense for layups or pulling up for the easy jumper. The equation may have been different each time, but the result was always the same.

"We couldn't stop either of them from penetrating and getting to the basket," Harris said. "We did a terrible, terrible job, and they outplayed us."

The game started 90 minutes late due to Avon Park's late arrival, which delayed the first game on the slate. Harris had the opportunity to push the game back to Wednesday, but the coach went against his instincts and decided to play on.

"Next time, I'll listen to my gut," Harris joked after the game. "I felt that my kids were uncomfortable with the layoff, but in the end I thought they could play."

That delay may have carried over onto the court, as the Blue Streaks found themselves with a 10-point disadvantage after the opening stanza, but clawed their way back to pull within three points before the half. Haynes' shot, however, jacked the lead up to five and seemed to take the wind out of Sebring's sails.

"That was the game-changer," Harris said. "That switched all the momentum we struggled to get on our side and shifted it back to them."

Palmetto took over the second half, using a box-and-one defense to limit Robinson's scoring chances and make other players step up and beat them.

That strategy worked to perfection, as Robinson finished with just 12 points and only two field goals in the second half, but senior Javier Medina and forward Joe Young stepped up to give the Streaks a fighting chance down the stretch.

Medina and Young combined to score 29 of Sebring's second-half points to pull the Streaks within eight points.

Young, who finished with a team-high 20 points, hit a 10-foot jumper from the left wing and knocked down the free throw for a traditional three-point play, and combined with Medina's free throws and J.C. Howard's 3-pointer, cut the Palmetto lead to 69-61 with 4:19 left to play.

After peppering the quarter with momentum, Sebring would see the bottle run dry, as the Tigers regained control on a pair of baskets off Blue Streak turnovers that culminated in Trey Yarn's 3-pointer to push the lead to 12. Sebring was unable to make another significant rally and watched their season come to end.

"Bad decisions is what this game came down to," said Medina, who finished the game with 14 points. "We needed to make that one extra pass instead of taking the ball and shooting. We wasted too many good looks at the basket."

The grimace that befell Robinson's face at halftime turned to one of disappointment following the game, but his coach praised the senior for turning in an MVP season.

"I can't say enough about Sam," Harris said. "He had a heck of a year and I enjoyed having him for four years. He could score from anywhere, but he's just one man and we couldn't get him the ball enough in the right spots tonight."