JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On January 31, 2019, the Paxon Golden Eagles lost to Andrew Jackson in the semifinals of the Gateway Conference Tournament by a score of 55-51. The Paxon Golden Eagles (20-5) and the First Coast Buccaneers (12-9) faced off for the Gateway Conference Tournament Championship. The Golden Eagles came out on a mission to not only win but to win big.
First Coast’s Justin Hodges hit the opening 3 of the ball game. First Coast went on a quick 5-0 run but soon the Golden Eagles woke up and went on a scoring terror. Isaiah Adams led all scorers after the first with 9 points. But the highlight of quarter one was Daniel Watson shaking his defender and getting the jumper to go just inside the paint. After one, the Golden Eagles led 22-9.
The second quarter was no different than the first. Everything was going Paxon’s way that they walked into the locker room with a very comfortable 33 point lead. Adams led all players again with 8 second quarter points and that was good enough to give him 17 points in the first half to be the lone double-digit scorer at halftime for both teams. The score at the half was 48-15.
The third quarter was a great defensive effort by both teams. Each was only able to put up 10 points for their squad with only four players scoring on each side. The highlight of the third came from Adams. Although these would be his last 2 points of the ball game he made sure they were flashy as he went soaring in for the left-handed dunk on a fast break. The end of the third quarter saw a score of 58-25.
The final quarter was just like the rest. The Golden Eagles kept soaring high although First Coast won the last quarter 13-11. Watson held down the team with 7 fourth quarter points while Coach Frazier rested his five seniors until the last 30 seconds of the game.
The final score was 69-38. Adams had a game-high and team-high 19 points. Watson had 13 points. First Coast was led by John Peden with 11 points and Hodges with 9 points.
Both teams will be back in action next Tuesday and Wednesday. First Coast will take on Ed White in a rematch from the Gateway Tournament on February 4th at 7 pm at Ed White (12-9). Paxon will square off against Palatka (17-5) on February 5th at 7:30 pm at home.
