NON-CONFERENCE Sebring holds back W. Reserve

The Trojans, with one returning starter, passed their first test of the season.
By ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
SEBRING -- With six out of nine players earning a 3.5 grade-point average or better, the Sebring High boys basketball team gets plenty of good marks in the classroom.
Tuesday, the Trojans passed their first test of the season on the court, grinding out a 42-39 victory over Western Reserve.
Sebring, which returns just one starter from last year's squad, had its hands full against a much-improved Western Reserve team.
The Blue Devils more than held their own against the Trojans, but missed opportunities late in the game kept them from stealing a win on the road.
Assessment
"We hung tough with a good team," Western Reserve coach Steve Miller said. "Both teams shot poorly at the free-throw line and we didn't take advantage of some opportunities. We had some bad passes and didn't go inside as much as we wanted.
"It's tough to come in here and steal a victory, but we had our chances," Miller said. "The difference was Sebring's shooting. They were hitting their long shots and keeping us from getting the ball inside.
"But if we can take anything from this loss, it's that we have some confidence that we can play with a team as good as Sebring," Miller said.
Despite shooting just 7-of-14 at the free throw line, Sebring was able to do the little things to hold off Western Reserve in the fourth quarter.
The Trojans outrebounded the Blue Devils 13-9 in the final quarter and David Scarpitti hit four straight free throws in the final 30 seconds to ice the win.
"David took over at the end of the game and hit those key free throws," Sebring coach Brian Clark said. "We had four new starters out there tonight and they looked to him for leadership in crunch time. David's numbers weren't huge, but he made sure we were poised and did what we needed to win."
Scarpitti did a little bit of everything for the Trojans, tallying six points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals.
His younger brother, Dan, led Sebring in scoring with a game-high 14 points. Joe James added 10 points and seven rebounds.
Strong start
Sebring led by as many as seven in the first half behind a strong effort by Dan Scarpitti. He scored 11 in the opening half, including three 3-pointers to give the Trojans a 23-17 halftime lead.
The Blue Devils battled back in the third quarter, holding the Trojans to seven points.
Matt Speece, who led Western Reserve with 11 points, was a force inside as the Blue Devils cut the deficit to 30-27 at the end of three.
The Trojans' lead again hit seven (36-29) after Joe James hit a jumper with 2:15 left in the fourth quarter. But Speece and Western Reserve took advantage of Sebring's poor free throw shooting to stay in the contest.
Speece scored inside with 27 seconds left to get Western Reserve within two points (38-36). That was as close as the Blue Devils would get as David Scarpitti canned four straight free throws to put Sebring up six points with just six seconds left.