Sebring stops McDonald to capture district crown

The Trojans outscored the Blue Devils 27-5 in the third quarter.
STRUTHERS -- The Sebring Trojans were just looking for somebody willing to play with them. For a half, McDonald gave them all they could handle.
Sebring (22-1) broke the game open in the third quarter and went on to a 67-45 to capture the Division IV district championship Friday night at the Struthers Fieldhouse.
The Trojans move on to the regional tournament Tuesday, where they will meet the winner of tonight's game between Shadyside and Zanesville Rosecrans at 6:15 p.m. at the Canton Fieldhouse.
"We were just happy to have somebody play basketball with us tonight; the last two teams didn't want to play," said Sebring coach Brian Clark.
"I thought the difference in the game was our execution in the third quarter," Clark said. "We had zero turnovers in the first and third quarters and it allowed us to put some points on the board."
Quick lead
Sebring opened the game by jumping out to a 12-0 lead and held the Blue Devils without a field goal until the final second of the period when McDonald's James Beedle made a 3-point goal and cut the Trojans' lead to 20-8.
In fact Beedle, who led all scorers with 26 points, scored all eight of McDonald's points in the quarter.
"We knew McDonald was a better team than it showed in the first quarter and they came out and showed it in the second quarter to get back in the game," Clark added. "The difference was the way we handled their pressure in the third quarter."
The Blue Devils started the second quarter with a 13-3 run to close the gap to 23-21 with 3:02 remaining in the half. The Trojans held on to lead 26-24 at the intermission.
Taking control
Sebring opened the third quarter with a 14-3 run to jump out into a 40-26 advantage and forced the Blue Devils (20-3) to change their defense.
"The score wasn't indicative of the game tonight," said McDonald head coach Jeff Rasile. "When they came out on a run in the third period we were forced to pressure and trap on defense, which allowed them to get a lot of easy baskets.
"We felt if we could have kept it close into the fourth quarter and then started our trapping we would have had a better chance," Rasile said. "They're a good team; you don't get ranked No. 2 in the state for nothing."
Senior Joe James, who led the Trojans with 24 points, scored six straight points in their opening run of the third quarter and when the quarter ended the Trojans had outscored McDonald 27-5 to hold a commanding 53-29 advantage.
Sebring shot 12-of-14 from the field in the third quarter and didn't have a turnover.
"That was probably as good as we've executed all season long in any quarter," Clark said.
Sebring's biggest lead was 27 points (67-40) when James hit the last of his five 3-point goals and then both coaches emptied their benches.
Jesse James added 13 points and Matt Ferguson hit 11 to aid the Trojans.