SEBRING –– Teamwork, fundamentals and playing for the betterment of the team is what basketball is all about, at least that's what Avon Park head coach Luther Clemons is trying to instill in his boys basketball team. And the message might have finally sunk in. The Red Devils ended 2007 on a positive note, defeating the Kissimmee Gateway Panthers 41-34 in the final day of the Jim Taveniere Holiday Tournament on Saturday, and in the process, may have found the blue print for success. ...more

December 31, 2007

SEBRING –– Screams of joy and jubilation erupted, and the spirits of one young athlete were lifted if only for one game. Sebring's Joe Young capped off a 10-point fourth quarter with a game-ending dunk that had the home crowd fans on their feet to celebrate the Blue Streak boys basketball team's 66-60 victory over Mulberry in the final day of the Jim Taveniere Holiday Tournament on Saturday. "[Joe] came up huge for us," said Sebring head coach Princeton Harris. "I told him that we needed him to step up, and he responded. ...more

December 31, 2007

BELLEVIEW –– Sebring's Brenita Grant may not have put up huge numbers in the stat column, but her play against the Gulf High Buccaneers on Saturday proved the difference in the Blue Streaks' 45-37 victory in the championship game of the Lady Rattlers Holiday Tournament. Down 34-29 heading into the final eight minutes, Sebring head coach Mike Lee decided to make a change. "We switched to man-to-man defense and that was a key to our win," Lee said. "[Brenita] shut down [Gulf's] guards. She played amazing for us." With her stellar defense, Grant helped the Streaks outscore Gulf 16-3 in the fourth for the win and earned tournament MVP honors. ...more

December 31, 2007

The Sebring High girls basketball team outscored Gulf 15-3 in the fourth quarter to win the Blue Division title 45-37 at the Lady Rattlers Friends Holiday tournament Saturday night. ...more

December 31, 2007

PREPS Saturday's late results BOYS BASKETBALL RAM JAM CLASSIC At Sarasota-Riverview ...more

December 31, 2007

SEBRING — "Get on my shoulders and lets win this game." Those words echoed from the Sebring boys basketball bench, as senior forward Sam Robinson gave the orders to his team and went on to score six points late in the game to lift the Streaks to a 44-41 comeback win over the Kissimmee Gateway Panthers in the second round of the Jim Taveniere Holiday Tournament on Friday. Down 37-31, Robinson's 3-pointer ignited cheers from the Sebring faithful and back-to-back steals gave the Blue Streaks the momentum to score the game's final eight points in a win in front of the home crowd. ...more

December 30, 2007

BELLVIEW — Sebring senior Whitney Lee scored 10 of her team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter and the Blue Streaks defense came up huge in a 58-49 victory over the Lyman Greyhounds (Orlando) in the second round of the Lady Rattlers Holiday Tournament on Friday. ...more

December 30, 2007

Those who watched the first Lightning College Hockey Classic last year may remember seeing Notre Dame win the championship and there is a good chance the Fighting Irish could repeat in this weekend's four-team tournament. ...more

December 29, 2007

SEBRING — It may be the season to give, but the Avon Park boys basketball team is taking that to the extreme. The Red Devils, who have had trouble hanging on to the ball, committed 30 turnovers in losing to Lakeland 57-38 in Thursday's first round of the Taveniere Holiday Tournament. "It's the same story every game, " said first-year Avon Park coach Luther Clemons. "We make too many turnovers and fall behind and spend the rest of the game trying to catch up. "Our defense was solid, but we didn't shoot well and we weren't patient enough on offense." Both teams came out sluggish to start the contest and the Dreadnaughts, led by James Campbell's four points, took an 11-6 lead heading into the second period. ...more

December 29, 2007

SEBRING — Taking care of the ball will most definitely be a resolution for the new year for the Sebring boys basketball team, which coughed up 24 turnovers in a 58-45 loss to the Suncoast Chargers in the late game of the Jim Taveniere Holiday Tournament on Thursday. A very physical Charger squad muscled Sebring for position and an effective half-court press forced the Blue Streak guards to pick up their dribble early and turnovers inevitably were the result, going down 17-4 early in the opening stanza. "They were a very rough team and the referee's set the tone by letting us play," Sebring shooting guard Chris Grubb said. "[Suncoast] is a really good team and they did a great job of closing down the middle and forcing us to take outside shots. "They're press defense and a lot of mental mistakes on our part caused us to get behind early, but I thought we did a good job getting back in the game." ...more

December 29, 2007