The Haines City Hornets pushed their score all the way to 77 on Thursday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell 84-77 to Sebring. While losing is never fun, Haines City can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 551st, while Sebring is ranked 232nd).
Haines City lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Charles Wright, who scored 17 points along with five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Gary Colon Nevarez, who scored 21 points.
Sebring had a senior duo take command as Jordan Gregory dropped a double-double on 28 points and 13 rebounds and KJ Turner almost dropped a triple-double on 12 points, nine rebounds, and 13 assists. The matchup was Gregory's third in a row with at least ten points. Kaleb Nobles was another key contributor, scoring 16 points along with eight rebounds.
Haines City's defeat was their third straight at home, which bumped their record down to 4-11. Those losses can't be blamed on the team's offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.0 points per game. As for Sebring, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 9-5.
Both squads will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Haines City won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Ridge Community at 12:30 p.m. on January 12th. Hopefully Ridge Community focused on turnovers this week since the team gave up 14 last Friday. Sebring won't have much time to rest: their next matchup is against Avon Park at 7:30 p.m. on January 12th.
