DIVISION IV BOYS DISTRICT Scarpitti seals Sebring victory

The Trojans' sophomore scored two baskets in the final 30 seconds for a 54-52 win over Mineral Ridge.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
STRUTHERS -- Sebring sophomore David Scarpitti was standing near the baseline with six seconds left when he faked a pass outside, turned and drove inside and found himself alone under the basket.
It was a tie score (52-52). Final seconds. District title on the line.
Was he surprised to be that open?
"Yeah, I kinda was," Scarpitti said with a smile. "I just tried to get up to the hoop."
Scarpitti hit the shot -- his second in the final 30 seconds -- leaving Mineral Ridge with just 2.3 seconds and a chance to win or tie.
Mineral Ridge coach Del Ruiter called timeout. He went for the win.
Final shot: Ram senior standout Malachi Hall caught the inbound pass behind the 3-point line, turned to find Sebring senior Joe Springer's hand in his face, adjusted his shot in mid-air and watched as the ball banked high off the glass and over the rim.
Game over. Sebring 54, Mineral Ridge 52.
"We had the ball in the hands of the guy we wanted," Ruiter said. "They just pushed their zone up a little higher than we expected."
Sebring's crowd erupted, poured onto the court and began dancing with the Trojans at midcourt. Hall sank his head. Mineral Ridge senior Bobby Burgess laid face down on the floor, holding back tears.
"I was kinda nervous," Scarpitti said. "I figured [Hall] would take the shot."
It was a fitting end to a wild game -- one that gave Sebring its first district title in a decade. The Trojans -- who have just one senior -- advance to Tuesday's regional semifinal against Bristol at the Canton Fieldhouse.
"I was really happy, but we want to win at Canton," Scarpitti said. "This was just one of the goals we had this year."
Leading the way: Scarpitti finished with 12 points and Josh Dean added 14. Greg VanKirk had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Trojans (20-3).
Chris Anderson led the Rams (17-6) with 20 points -- including six 3-pointers -- and Burgess added six points and 10 rebounds. Hall -- who's leaning toward Mount Union or Westminster -- had 12 points, five steals and four assists.
Sebring coach Brian Clark called Hall "the Jason Williams [from Duke] of Division IV basketball. He's a lightning bolt."
Added Ruiter, "There's not a better player in the area than Malachi."
The two teams played even for much of the game. Hall hit a 3-pointer before the buzzer to tie the score at 15 after the first quarter. Sebring then exploded in the second quarter, hitting four 3s -- a couple from NBA territory -- and outscored the Rams 20-10 to take a 35-25 halftime lead.
Rams battle back: Mineral Ridge cut its deficit to 42-37 after three quarters. Anderson -- who scored 14 points in the second half -- hit a 3 with 5:15 left to tie the score at 44. Hall then followed with a 3 to give the Rams their first lead since early in the second quarter.
The teams were tied at 50 with two minutes left and exchanged turnovers before Scarpitti hit a driving six-footer with 28 seconds left to give the Trojans a 52-50 lead. Anderson then hit a runner with 15 seconds left to set up the last second drama.
"I thought it came down to execution," Ruiter said. "They paid attention to details and had a couple breaks go their way."
But, Ruiter added, "I think we made the Inter-County League proud."
scalzo@vindy.com