We headed up to the First Coast to take in a regional final between Jacksonville Jackson and Tallahassee Florida High.  We had been unable to see either of these teams this season so this was not only a great chance to see both but also go to a spirited environment such as Jackson High as their fans fill the gym, are boisterous and seem to live and die with every possession by either team.

Both teams came out ready to play with a great deal of energy in the first quarter as the pace they set was quite fast.  Neither team held a lead long as seemingly when one team scored, the other did so in like fashion on the next possession.  Midway through the period, the score was knotted at 10-10.  Florida High was able to get some timely three-point shooting Artavian Brown and Iean Allen, who hit a three pointer before the buzzer, to give Florida High an 18-17 lead after the first eight minutes.

The tempo slowed down just a bit in the second period but both teams continued to find the same amount of offensive success.  Midway thru the quarter the game was tied at 23-23. At this juncture, Jackson grabbed some momentum by taking advantage of Seminole turnovers and quickly turning them into Tiger points.  Jackson scored the last five points of the period to take a 34-30 lead into the halftime break.

Jackson scored the first four points of the third period to give them some breathing room.  Florida High didn’t let them get any further ahead, but struggled to get quality shots of their own to make a dent in Jackson’s lead.  Florida High called a timeout with 2:30 remaining in the quarter down 44-38 to halt the Tiger’s momentum and also try to get more organized on offense.  After that break, both teams scored a two-point basket each.  With possession of the ball and clock winding down, Jackson got off a three-point shot that fell through the net as the buzzer went off to give the Tigers a 49-40 lead with one more quarter to play.

Florida High worked hard to get back to within striking distance and were down just six, 53-47 with four minutes left to play.  At that point, Jackson took advantage of Florida High’s overeagerness to catch up quickly, turning turnovers and missed shots into easy scoring opportunities, resulting in an 8-0 run which put Jackson up double-digits, 61-47, with 2:25 remaining.  At that point, Florida High called timeout.  While Florida High scored the last five points of the game, Jackson was able to run a lot of clock as Florida High hesitated to foul and put the Tigers on the foul line.  In the end, Jackson punched its ticket to Lakeland with a 61-52 victory.

Jackson was led by Jahari Simmons with 16 points while David Wilson added 12 points.  No other Jackson player was in double figures but all eight Jackson players that entered the game scored.

For Florida High, Allen led the team with 13 points while both Brown and Trey Card each finished with 11 points.