TRI-COUNTY LEAGUE Dean carries Sebring to overtime win 73-71
His 3-point goal sent the game into overtime where the Trojans prevailed.
By JOHN BUTERA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBIANA -- Sebring High's Josh Dean single-handedly carried his team into overtime, then watched his teammates raise their level of play Tuesday as the Trojans eked out a 73-71 victory over Crestview.
Sebring (9-1, 5-1) shares first place with Lisbon in the Tri-County League.
"It keeps you in the hunt," said Sebring coach Brian Clark of the victory, "and it keeps you tied for first place."
Crestview's Nick Hoff made a steal and parlayed it into a basket and free throw to give the Rebels a 64-58 lead with 1:08 remaining.
Leading the way: Then Dean began his show. At 38 seconds, he connected on a 3-pointer. With 13 seconds left following a Crestview turnover, he made a basket to cut his team's deficit to 64-63.
Troy Duwe, who again turned in an outstanding performance for Crestview with 24 points, tossed in two free throws with six seconds remaining.
That set the stage for another 3-pointer from Dean as time ran out, sending the game into overtime.
"Down the stretch we showed some youth and made some mistakes," Crestview coach Rick Gates said. "There was a point where we could have broken them and we didn't.
"Coming in, I thought we were evenly matched and we felt confident we could play with them."
Both teams were hot in the fourth quarter as Crestview (6-6, 4-2) made 6-of-7 shots and Sebring was 8-of-11.
Behind consecutive baskets by Joe Sapp, who also came up big for Crestview with 21 points, the Rebels led 55-46 with 7 minutes to go in the game.
In foul trouble: Making Sebring's win even more impressive was that four of its players had four fouls with 7:05 left to play.
The game had seven lead changes in the first half. Crestview built the biggest lead when Jamiel Radman connected with 24 seconds to go in the third quarter for a 51-41 margin.
The Rebels played that period with just two turnovers while enjoying a 16-6 rebounding edge.
In overtime, Sebring outscored Crestview 7-5 on a key basket by Adam Jurica and a game-clinching free throw by Greg VanKirk, who also scored 20 points.
Early in the game, Clark sat one of his starters following a technical foul.
"Sometimes people think it's all about basketball, but there needs to be some teaching involved, too," Clark said.