Dogs hold off Liberty, 52-46

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Dogs hold off Liberty, 52-46

Sports

Friday, 15 January 2010 12:43

By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor
In a game of streaks at the St. Cloud High gym Thursday, first St. Cloud made its run, scoring 27 points in the second quarter, before Liberty answered with 13 straight points in the second half.
But it took clutch baskets by St. Cloud forward Laran Charles, who scored all seven of his points in the fourth quarter, and Jens Soto (12) to lift the Bulldogs to a 52-46 boys basketball win in the Orange Belt Conference.
The Bulldogs, 8-5, played most of the game without senior guard James Boone (11), who sat out the second half after picking up a technical foul just before halftime.
“That’s the rule, you pick up a technical, you’re out for the rest of the game,” St. Cloud assistant coach Bill Slovik said.
With St. Cloud’s starters sitting much of the way, the bench picked up the slack as forward Eric Meggett scored five points in the second period and guard Jon Bouchard scored three points.
“Nobody’s indispensable. How about Eric coming in and playing the way he did?” Slovik said.
St. Cloud’s starting point guard, David Ortiz, playing sparingly with an injured thumb, scored only two points. But they were timely, coming in the last minute to expand the Dogs’ lead to 49-43.
Liberty, 5-11, was led by Robbie Johnroe (13).
Down 9-4 in the second quarter, the Bulldogs went on a 17-2 run to take a 21-11 lead. But the Chargers, trailing 31-17 at the half, tied it at 37 on Ben Naules’ (6) bucket in the fourth quarter, then took a 39-37 lead on Oscar Alvardo’s (5) basket.
St. Cloud’s Charles tied it on a lay up, then Rakim Gore’s (4) bucket put the Dogs ahead for good, 41-39.
Liberty Coach Anthony Crespo said his team is learning to play consistently well.
“We still make some mistakes, but right now we’re taking baby steps,” Crespo said. “I’m proud of my boys the way they fought back.”
The game lifted St. Cloud to second place, 4-1, in the OBC standings.
Osceola, 13-2, lifted its conference record to 3-1 with a 61-31 win over Poinciana Thursday. Brenton Williams had 15. Nigel Daise had 12.
Tuesday, St. Cloud stopped Celebration, 45-31, in 4A District 7. Boone had 21. In other games played Tuesday, Gateway improved to 1-1 in 6A District 6, 12-6 overall, with a 53-45 win over Palm Bay Bayside. Antonio Rucker had 14 for the Panthers. David Jerome had 12 points and 14 rebounds.
New Dimensions, 9-3, beat City of Life, 70-42. Emmanuel Francois had 20.
Southland fell to Vanguard, 58-33, Jan. 8.