By ERIKA CORD
News-Sun correspondent
SEBRING - Avon Park's last game of the Tavinere Tournament had a sorry ending for the Devils, with a final score of 49-41 after being put into overtime by the Lake Region Thunder.
Avon Park had bounced back from a tournament-opening loss to Sebring Thursday with a lopsided win over Ft. Meade Friday.
The hard-fought finale on Saturday was one for the record books, although not officially on the regular season docket, and keeps the hopes of the Devils high.
Down early, Avon Park kept pace so as to not let the Thunder get too far out in front.
And in the second half, the Devils made their move, got back into it and gave itself a chance for the win.
"We didn't really start playing hard till the second half. We are a young team, and we've got to keep that in mind." Avon Park head coach Marty O'Hora said. "We didn't really make smart basketball plays tonight. "
With a score of 35-35 at the end of the fourth quarter, Avon Park had a chance at victory in overtime.
With the four minutes of extra time given to the teams, Travis Lawton decided to make something of it, scoring two baskets in overtime, putting Avon Park up by one point with a score of 39-38.
Although they couldn't quite keep up, with Lake Region pulling ahead and then hitting a three-pointer in the last seconds of the game to clinch it.
"We need to work on our turnovers," O'Hora said. "We aren't a physical team so we are getting killed on the glass."
The Devils leading scorers of the night were Alfred Brown with a whopping 16 points thought the game, Gus Owens with 11 points, and Tyrone Perry with five points.
The Devils get back into regular season play in a non-conference, though always emotional match-up with Sebring Friday night at Avon Park.
Sunday, December 30, 2012 - www.newssun.com/SUN-12-30-12-DevilsBB