Avon Park Folds Under Hardee Pressure

The swagger was there and the confidence was at a crescendo for the Avon Park boy's basketball team, but what was missing after the dust settled in the Class 4A-District 10 tournament opener on Monday was a victory.

Hardee's Postene Louisjeune went 9-for-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, including sinking four from the charity stripe with 14 seconds left and Avon Park went cold down the stretch to give the No. 7-seeded Wilcats a 66-60 upset win over the No. 2-seeded Red Devils at DeSoto High School.

The moniker that in tournament time "anybody can beat anybody" was never more evident than in this rematch from last year's tournament, where Hardee ousted Avon Park 59-36 in the opening round.

This year, the 'Cats didn't have the twin towers of Arnold Lewis and Mark St. Fort, who blistered Avon Park for a combined 45 points in the paint in last year's tournament.

Hardee didn't even manage a win in district play this season, going 0-12 coming into the tournament. That made Avon Park a huge favorite, especially with their own twin towers in center Cleveland Nobles and power forward Alonzo Robertson.

"We just decided to do what teams do to us and that's pressure the guards and make it hard to get the ball into their big guys," said Hardee head coach Vance Dickey. "We were able to do a good job in the second half of denying the entry passes to their big men and to our credit we made our free throws down the stretch."

The mood from the Avon Park players was one of frustration and a wasted opportunity from a team that looked to be on a collision course for the district championship this season.

"We beat ourselves, and that's the bottom line in this game," Avon Park guard Derrick McKenzie said. "I think we came in a little overconfident and we didn't get the job done.

"I'm clueless ... I'm speechless right now."

Avon Park's Avierre Conner sank a pair of free throws to give Avon Park a 60-59 lead with 57.6 seconds left in the game, but those would be the final points for the Devils, as Louisjeune iced the win.

Avon Park head coach Luther Clemons circled the reason for the ouster of the Devils from this year's tournament: 24 turnovers.

"We didn't play well at all, and it showed in our turnovers," said Clemons. "Hardee did a good job of double teaming the ball and they executed their game plan and got the most out of what they're working with."

When asked if the Devils came out with too much confidence, Clemons shook his head.

"They shouldn't have," said Clemons. "The coaching staff told them to not overlook Hardee and that this wasn't going to be a cake walk by any means.

"But that's all we can do. We can't play the game for them."

The turning point came during the first half, when the Devils watched a nine-point lead trimmed down and the momentum shifted to the 'Cats corner when Tre Anderson sank a 3-pointer before the end of the quarter to cut the AP lead to just a two at the half.

Avon Park had the game in hand with the offense running through their big men - Nobles and Robertson - who finished with 12 and 13 points, respectively, against the smaller Hardee squad.

But the 'Cats continued to hang around, never letting the game get out of hand on the 3-point shooting of Anderson, who finished with 13-points, including four from beyond the arc.

"Tre was hitting those long range shots that kept them in the game and we were missing point-blank baskets," Clemons said. "You can't blow easy baskets and expect to win."

Hardee took control of the game by outscoring Avon Park 14-7 in the third to give the 'Cats a 39-35 lead going into the fourth.

The lead could've been larger for the underdogs but Nobles hit a basket and split a pair from the free throw line just before the end of the quarter.

"I really don't know what happened, but it doesn't feel good to have it end this way," said AP senior Xavier Caldwell, who walked off the court in his Devils uniform for the final time.

NOTES: Conner led the Devils with 14 points and TK Miller finished with 13 points in the loss ... Antjuan Jones finished with 15 points and Louisjeune went 11-of-15 from the floor against the Devils. The 'Cats went 20-of-30 from the free throw line.