Blue Streaks Race Past Red Devils

SEBRING -- It wasn't a movie, but Saturday night's basketball game between Avon Park and Sebring was fast and furious.

The uptempo style of play was much more to Sebring's liking, as senior forward Sam Robinson scored a team-high 17 points, and the Blue Streaks forced 25 turnovers en route to a 56-40 win over the Red Devils.

The Class 4A-District 10 win improved Sebring to 10-6 overall, 6-3 in district, and gave the Blue Streaks a season sweep of Avon Park.

"We just came out, played hard and kept the pressure on the entire game," said Robinson. "We've been working hard on our defense and it paid off tonight.

"It's sweet to beat Avon Park, but we have to stay focused, because we think we have the talent to make a run at the district title and that's our main goal."

The loss dropped the Red Devils to 2-10, 1-7.

"We made way too many turnovers and mental mistakes," said first-year coach Luther Clemons. "We got behind and battled back but it just wasn't enough."

Both teams came out cold from the floor, but Sebring's Joe Young scored four of his six points and T.J. Williams added a basket to give the Blue Streaks a 10-5 lead heading into the second quarter.

Sebring went to its full-court press and forced Avon Park into numerous turnovers which were converted into easy baskets.

Robinson buried a pair of 3-pointers and Jake Trussell scored two buckets in the paint as the Blue Streaks opened up a double-digit lead midway through the period.

Red Devil sophomore forward Cleveland Nobles, who had a game-high 18 points, to go along with 12 rebounds, scored 11 points to keep Avon Park in the game, but Sebring took a 30-18 halftime lead.

Avon Park closed within eight points on a rebound basket by Nobles late in the third quarter, but Robinson nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Blue Streaks a 41-30 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

Sebring went to a slow down style on offense to run some time off the clock and the strategy worked perfectly, as senior forward Nate Orozco scored six of his 12 points on short jump shots in the lane on nice passes from the Blue Streak guards.

"That's my shot," said Orozco. "We've been practicing the stall offense in practice and once the defense gets spread out, it gets me open looks in the paint.

"This was my last game against Avon Park and it sure is sweet to sweep them my last year."

Avon Park was forced to foul to try and get back in the game, but the Blue Streaks were able to convert their free throws to hold off the Red Devils down the stretch.

"We didn't play as well as I would have liked, but we got a district win against Avon Park and that's what matters," said Sebring coach Princeton Harris. "We executed some things that we've been working on in practice, but we still have a lot of work to do if we want to contend for the district championship.

"We need to stay focused and play smart and I think we'll be fine come tournament time."

Sebring is back in action with a key District 10 matchup at Braden River on Friday night, while Avon Park hosts Hardee in a district game on Tuesday in the Red Devil gym.

"We have to stay focused and keep working hard," said Clemons. "There is a lot of basketball left in the season."