The Palmetto boys basketball team had three players score in double figures on Tuesday night to lead the Tigers to a 88-71 victory over Sebring in the opening round of the Class 4A-District 10 tournament. ...more

February 6, 2008

Arnold Lewis had a game-high 26 points and 12 rebounds and Mark St. Fort added 19 points and seven blocks on Tuesday night to lead the Hardee boys basketball team to a 59-36 victory over Avon Park in the opening round of the Class 4A-District 10 tournament. ...more

February 6, 2008

Sam Piazza placed his arm around Gaither High senior guard Eddie Munoz and smiled. ...more

February 5, 2008

OKEECHOBEE – Despite a valiant fourth-quarter comeback, the Avon Park boys basketball team fell to Okeechobee 57-55 on Saturday night in the Brahman gym. Early foul trouble forced the Red Devils to sit freshman Alonzo Robertson, who finished with 11 points, and Tim Dennis, who did a good job on the boards. Okeechobee took advantage by taking a 35-18 halftime lead. Freshman Avierre Conner finished with 12 points and helped the Red Devils mount their second-half comeback. ...more

February 4, 2008

LAKE PLACID — Virgil Cooper had 10 points and Alonzo Robertson and Teddy Allen each added eight on Friday night as the Avon Park boys basketball team held off an inspired Lake Placid squad for a 44-39 victory in a cross-county showdown. "We played as a team and were focused," said Cooper, whose team watched its eight-point halftime lead dwindle to four with five minutes left before finishing off the Dragons late. "When we play together, we share the ball, and it's a lot more fun." ...more

February 3, 2008

SEBRING — Three Blue Streaks scored in double figures on Friday night to lead the Sebring boys basketball team to a 73-42 victory over LaBelle in the Streaks' final regular season game. Chris Grubb had 14 points, T.J. Williams had 13 and Sam Robinson added 11 in Sebring's final tune-up before the district tournament, which begins Tuesday at Palmetto. "We didn't play well at first, but we switched some things up and forced some turnovers," said Sebring coach Princeton Harris. "Our biggest thing now is staying humble — we haven't won anything yet." ...more

February 2, 2008

Derick Beltran is a 6-foot-3 senior guard/forward for the Spoto High boys basketball team. He leads the Spartans with 18.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Beltran, born in Queens, N.Y, was recently named Hillsborough County's Class 4A Player of the Year. Beltran transferred from Easy Bay to Spoto before his junior season, and he has helped bring the program some attention. Spoto coach Eric Brooks said a few Division II schools have shown interest. ...more

February 1, 2008

4A-8 BOYS BASKETBALL Orgass slam puts the exclamation point on a strong night for the Sharks ...more

January 29, 2008

Preparation; role playing; adjustments. These terms can be so cliche in sports and yet winners will tell you that it's the basics that got them where they are. So it went for the Nature Coast boys' basketball team Tuesday night when they ventured to Wiregrass Ranch and beat the Bulls, 67-55. ...more

January 29, 2008

LAKE PLACID — Playing with effort, intensity and determination — something that's been lacking on a consistent basis during the season — the Lake Placid boys basketball team used a balanced attack led by Conlin Veley's team-high 13 points to beat LaBelle 64-49 on Friday night. Veley also pulled down 12 rebounds, while younger brother Kurt Veley scored nine points on three 3-pointers as the Class 3A Green Dragons improved to 9-11 with the non-district win. "It was a good win for us," Conlin Veley said. "When we play with effort and intensity, we're a pretty good team. We need to play hard every minute, because when we let down we lose our tempo and teams make runs on us. ...more

January 27, 2008