Jacksonville Fl- The gym was thick with excitement and anticipation of the FHSAA Boys Class 3A Semifinal between #5 Providence and #1. Jackson Tuesday night. Providence and Coach Jim Martin came into the game (19-9) defeating #4. P.K Yonge (15-12) 58-41 in the first round of the playoffs. Jackson defeated #8. Maclay (17-8) 55-40 in the first round of the playoffs., for the right to host the 2nd round contest.
Early on, the game resembled two teams that were very familiar with each other. Jackson defeated Providence twice this year 44-41 in OT, and then 31-29 in the district tournament. So it was natural to anticipated a low scoring hard fought game. It certainly followed that script. The first quarter ended with a score of 6-5 advantage Providence, as both teams missed shots due to the impact of their active defenses.
In the second, Jackson took a slight lead as the Tigers effectively subbed in key contributors off their bench. Big Marquez Ray, the 6’9 Junior established himself down low, scoring 4 of his 8 points in the quarter. For Providence, their points came from their center J.Lee Repass, who scored 7 of his 10 points in the first two quarters.
Yet Providence was unable to get any scoring help from their guards in the first half as star guard Isaiah Green was held scoreless by long armed guards Frankie Dennard, Jackie Simmons III and Rickie Shaw of Jackson. The Tigers took a 14-10 lead going into the locker room at the half.
The second half saw Jackson pull away early, thanks to the paint presence of senior Logan West, and the red hot shooting from junior Jackie Simmons III. Simmons hit two big three-pointers to begin the third quarter prompting Providence to call timeout.
The 20-10 lead coupled with their suffocating defense was all the Tigers needed to put the pressure on Providence. West scored 3 points in the quarter, including a series where he registered a block on the defensive end and a dunk on the ensuing possession to galvanize his team.
In the 4th, guard Isaiah Green decided to put his team on his back, scoring 16 of his team’s 21 points in the quarter. Green knocked down two big 3-pointers and drove to the basket challenging the tall paint defenders of Jackson. His valiant effort kept things interesting late into the game, however Jackson would take advantage of the Stallion’s attempt to enact a full court press.
Coach James Collins directed traffic from the side-lines as Jackson made the right pass to find the open man for easy lay-ups and crowd pleasing dunks. Sophomore James Morrow was one of the benefactors of these plays, scoring 6 of his 8 points in the fourth.
Jackson (23-3) would go on to defeat Providence 44-32 to advance to the regional final. Jackie Simmons led Jackson with 15 points. The Tigers will face Windermere Prep (27-3) for the chance to return to the Final 4 in consecutive years.
Providence makes another post season appearance for the prominent program, however ran into a better team in the second round of the playoffs. Said Head Coach Jim Martin ” I’m proud of my team, we just ran into a better team tonight.” “Jackson is going to give teams fits with their height, length, and depth; they were able to sub more bodies tonight which played a big factor in this game”.
