A sudden ending

The Avon Park boys basketball team's magical season came to an abrupt end in Wednesday's Class 3A state semifinals against Rickards (Tallahassee) at the Lakeland Center.

The Red Devils, who posted an impressive 26-4 season record, which included three road wins in the state playoffs, turned the ball over 22 times and shot only 31 percent from the floor in losing by a score of 69-45 to a very talented and athletic Raiders squad.

"I'm very proud of this team," said Avon Park coach Luther Clemons. "They are a little disappointed and would have liked to have a better showing, but we were regional champions and made it to the Final Four.

"There are 97 teams in Class 3A and this was our year of favor, because we made it to the Final Four."

Avon Park started out strong in the opening minutes as senior guard Van'derkel Clayton buried a 3-pointer and junior forward Alonzo Robertson scored four of his team-high 15 points.

Rickards, which improved to 27-0, answered with the outside sharp-shooting of senior guard Avery Moore, who drilled a pair of 3-pointers, and scored eight of his game-high 23 points to give the Raiders a 19-14 lead heading into the second quarter.

Avon Park center Cleveland Nobles, who scored 11 points, went to the bench with his second foul early in the period, and Rickards took advantage as 6-foot-7-inch junior center Chris Bryant dominated the paint and scored six points on offensive rebounds as the Raiders opened up a double-digit lead.

"We had some guys get in foul trouble early in the game and it really hurt us," Clemons said. "This is the first time our guys were in this atmosphere and I think it caught up with us in the second quarter.

"All of a sudden, we started turning the ball over, missed a bunch of shots close to the basket and Rickards took advantage of our mistakes."

Rickards used its quickness to disrupt Avon Park's offense and lightning-quick guard Jakari Bush penetrated the Red Devils defense to score six of his 11 points as the Raiders opened up a 38-23 lead at the half.

"We didn't come out focused and ready to play," said Robertson. "We were just looking around and kind of in awe of everything."

Things didn't improve for Avon Park, as Rickards opened the third quarter with a 7-2 run, punctuated by a thunderous dunk by Bryant to take a 45-25 lead with 6:31 remaining in the period.

Avon Park called a time out to try and regroup, but Rickards continued to apply offensive pressure and took a commanding 55-31 advantage into the final eight minutes.

Avon Park, which lost guard Tekovin Miller to fouls late in the third quarter, refused to fold and continued to play hard despite its large deficit.

Rickards went to a slow down offense to run clock in the final quarter and the Raiders cruised to the semifinal win.

"Rickards didn't surprise us," said Clemons. "We were prepared for them, but the turnovers hurt us and we didn't shoot the ball like we normally do.

"Our guys never quit and I was a little disappointed in our fans because we worked hard to get to the Final Four and I thought out guys deserved a little more support at the end of the game."

For Avon Park senior Teddy Allen, making it to the state Final Four was the highlight of his high school career.

"This is the fist time I've gone to the Final Four in any sport," the Red Devil football standout said. "This was our last game together and even though we lost, making it this far is something I'll always be able to talk about."

Reaching the Final Four was a dream come true for Coach Clemons.

"This was special for all of us," said the Red Devils coach. "I'm grateful to God for being able to be here and I'm grateful for this team because this is a special group of players.

"These young men should be lifted up because what they were able to accomplish is very special."