Jacksonville FL- Another year and another Gateway Conference appearance by the Jackson Tigers, and head coach James Collins. Although this year is unlike others recently, as the Tiger came into the 2022-2023 conference tournament as a #4 seed instead of their usual #1 or #2 seed. It’s been a new Jackson team in the city, and a new road to travel for the13-10 Tigers. Still, Jackson will play for their fifth Gateway Conference Championship in six years, after defeating Paxon on Thursday.
How Jackson arrived in the Gateway Conference Championship game is one focused on a familiar formula; defense and discipline. After a stale-mate for the first 3-minutes of the first quarter, the Tigers saw themselves in a hole as the Golden Eagles began to score the basket.
Senior guard Kyle Jones found lanes to penetrate, and generate second chance points. He scored 9-points in the first half to lead all scorers, as Paxon took a 23-15 lead into halftime.
It was an all around effort as junior Brysan Yearby hit open shots from 20-feet. He scored 6 of his 8-points in the first half. Jacob Delos Santos also was a big factor in the first half, scoring 9-points and hitting a big three-pointer to galvanize the home crowd. Head Coach Kenny Elliott was able to draw up open looks for his players, and they capitalized.
The second half was a different story however, as Collins tore into his team at halftime. Said Jackson’s Octavious Lawson Jr of his head coach “I can’t cuss (and repeat what he said at halftime), but basically he said we’ve been down worse and we know what to do”. Well, the Tigers sure did know what to do, as they frustrated and harrassed Paxon erasing an 8-point lead.
Lawson in particular was instrumental. He blocked shots and hit two free throws to give his team a lead with just 12-seconds remaining in the game. Jackson would go on to win, holding Paxon’s leading scorer scoreless in the second half.
Now, the Tigers have another tall test in traveling to Ribault for the Gateway Conference Championship. If they are to win on the road again, they must stay active on offense as they did against Paxon. Ronald Durham Jr slashed to the basket for lay-ups, and put-backs. Joseph Bargeron generated steals and finished fast-breaks for the Tigers. Both ended the game scoring 10-points to lead Jackson.
Yet defense is the name of the game for Jackson, and they’ll have to play big in the paint considering their lack of height contrary to previous years. Albert Laguerre is one of those players who plays much bigger than his frame. His presence around the rim, crashing boards and cutting to the hole saw him score 8-points in the upset of #2 seeded Paxon.
Ribault awaits Jackson, as the two teams split both games earlier this year. Ribault won the first 39-38, while Jackson took the next match-up 62-58. It will be a close contest once again on Friday, as Jackson looks to keep their dominance of the conference going.
