NORTHSIDE – Taking on teams through out the North, South, East and West of Jacksonville, Kirby Smith would prove to the city that there are 59 reasons why they deserved to be crowned the 2018-2019 Boys Middle School Champions.
After a third visit to the championship, the Comets would prevail over Stilwell on Wednesday night in a 59-57 victory at Ribault High School.
Championship MVP and leading scorer Najai Moody would lead Kirby with a whopping 30 points, Devin Herring would score 12 points and Zaire Moody scored 7 points.
Tyree Hall would lead the Patriots by scoring 17 points while Noah Kitchens would put up 14 points, along with Antonio Harrison contributing 10 points.
“We did not underestimate our opponent, they earned the right to be here,” Kirby Smith head coach Antwan Lewey stated.
Kirby would begin the game by unleashing their starting lineup consisting of Caleb Williams, Zaire Moody, Devin Herring, Thomas Fore and Najai Moody. Stilwell would counter with a powerhouse lineup of Antonio Harrison, Keyshawn Thomas, Tyreeck Hall, Zion Kitchen and Noah Kitchen.
The Comets brought about a fast paced style of play by scoring back-to-back shots. Kirby initially would trail but a steal from the defense would put the team back in the game tied 17-17 as the first quarter ended.
Kirby Smith would catapult into the second quarter delivering massive scoring while immobilizing the Patriots offense. The pugnacious defense allowed the Patriots the opportunity to score off free throw shots, while Devin Herring proved that he ruled the paint by ending foreseeable play.
The Comets dominating offense and defense resulted in a 31-26 lead at the half.
An avenging Patriots offense would emerge in the third quarter. Noah Kitchens tantalizing three-pointer signaled to every spectator in attendance that Stilwell was here to play. Yet Kirby would continue to hold them off leading 49-42 heading to the fourth quarter.
As the fourth quarter began, the Comets would continue to rain down shots over the Patriots defense.
With 1:53 left in the game, Kirby began to make a move to pull away even more taking a 58-49 lead.
However, a hungry Patriots defense would totally shutdown the Comets offense as Stilwell went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 58-56 late in the game.
Stilwell had a chance to tie it or pull off the upset as they went to the free throw line in the closing seconds but the Patriots would only convert 1 of 2 free throws to come up short.
