Verot boys fall to Avon Park 58-53
Bishop Verot’s boys’ basketball team couldn’t duplicate the success of the boys’ soccer team. The bubble burst Saturday night for the Vikings, who had won 13 of their last 15 games to reach the Region 3-3A tournament finals.
Avon Park had the last say, sinking eight of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter to hold off a frantic comeback bid by the Vikings for a 58-53 victory at John J. Nevins Gymnasium.
In the end, it was a poor second-quarter performance that cost the Vikings dearly.
“We couldn’t make shots,” said Vikings coach Matt Herting. “We didn’t get it done in the second quarter, but we still had our chances at the end. You have to give Avon Park their due, they hit the big free throws when they needed to.”
The victory sends Avon Park (26-3) to the Class 3A state semifinals Wednesday in Lakeland against Tallahassee Rickards, a 69-56 winner over Jacksonville Ribault. The championship game is Thursday.
A three-pointer by Avierre Conner, one of four he hit in the first half, gave the Red Devils a 9-6 lead they never relinquished. From there, the closest the Vikings would get was the 13-12 score after the first quarter buzzer.
The Vikings (19-11), who only scored five points in the second quarter – one field goal and 3-of-8 free throws – went scoreless for more than four minutes while the Devils went on a 14-0 run to open a 30-14 advantage. It wasn’t for a lack of trying. Several contested layups or jumpshots under the backboard rolled around the rim and harmlessly fell away. The half ended with the Vikings trailing by 17 points, 34-17.
It was a long way back to make a game of it, but the Vikings were up to the task.
“Avon hit aq lot of perimeter shots I didn’t think they were capable of,” said Herting. “They got way too many second looks. I told the kids at halftime to get after them.”
The Vikings, who had played a more deliberate style of offense in the first half, came out running to start their comeback. The Devils, who led by a game-high 18 points (37-19), cooperated by turning the ball over five times in the first four minutes of the third quarter while the Vikings cut the deficit to nine, 37-28. Senior Jacquard Hagan connected for three three-pointers and Nate Howard coaxed one three to go through the hoop during the 19-8 run. The period ended with the Vikings trailing by just six, 42-36.
The Devils built the lead back to 11 (47-36) with rive minutes left in the fourth quarter before the Vikings spent the rest of the game trying to overcome the last six points of the double-digit deficit. It didn’t help that the Vikings made only 4-of-7 free throws down the stretch.
The Vikings pulled within three points for the first time in a long time at 51-48 with 1:30 to play. The Devils hit seven free throws in the final minute to seal the victory. Connor, who finished with a game-high 18 points, accounted for 5-of-6 at the line.
The closest the Vikings could get was 52-50 with 55 seconds remaining. Howard and Hagan each missed three-pointers in the final 20 seconds that possibly could have won the game or sent it into overtime.
Quinten Payne had 17 points for the Vikings while Hagan finished with 15.
“It was an unbelievable run,” Herting said. “No one thought we could get this far.”
The loss denied the Vikings a chance to raise their second straight regional championship banner beside the the one for 2009 hanging in the gym rafters.
Avon Park 13 21 8 16 – 58
Bishop Verot 12 5 19 17 – 53
Avon Park 58 – Miller 2, Conner 18, Clayton 7, Baker 5, Johnson 2, Allen 1, Robertson 13, Nobles 10. Totals: 21 12-17 58.
3PG – Conner 4.
Bishop Verot 53 – Payne 17, Hoop 3, Thomas 8, Hagan 15, Sandoval 4, Howard 6. Totals: 19 10-19 53.
3PG – Thomas 1, Hagan 3, Howard 1.