The Fort White boys basketball team played in its first-ever final four on Wednesday night at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
However, the No. 3 seed Indians never led in a 46-37 loss to No. 2 seed Crossroad Academy (Quincy) in the FHSAA Rural State Semifinals.
The Scorpions (17-9) will play top seed Hawthorne, which defeated Graceville, 69-44, in the other state semifinal, at 7 p.m. on Friday for the state title.
Fort White’s season ended at 15-10.
“Kudos to Crossroad, a great group of guys, well-coached,” said Fort White coach Elven Sheppard. “I thought we came out a little bit flat. I thought we gave the ball away a little too much which gave them some easy ones, but I thought once we settled in in the second half, we did the same thing to them. Turned them over and went and got some easy ones. We kind of made it a ball game but we ran out of steam, and they were able to kind of stall the ball and we had to foul them because we were behind, and they went to the free throw line a lot in the second half.”
Fort White matched Crossroad Academy basket for basket in the opening quarter, tying the game at 6-6 on a layup by junior Jayden Jackson, but they never led in the game.
It was two different halves for the Indians, who only scored 12 points in the first half and headed to the locker room trailing 21-12.
“Us just not hitting shots, coming out being very energetic and playing at the tempo that they were playing,” said Jackson, who led the Indians with 11 points. “I think they came out very energetic and we came out very slow and sluggish and I think that led to the outcome.”
The lead grew to 14 following a pair of free throws by Crossroad’s Tyrek Jessie (6 points, 6 rebounds), which gave the Scorpions their largest lead of the game, 31-17, with 3:19 to play in the third quarter.
The Indians went on a 10-2 run to get back in the game.
Junior Desean Lally hit a 3-ball from the left wing and Jackson knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing to get within single digits.
Jackson also made a 3-pointer from the right wing with 11 seconds to play in the third as the ball bounced off the rim and went in the basket to cut the deficit to six at 33-27.
“Going into halftime I told those guys we’ve been in this position before and we’re not new to it,” Jackson said. “I believed we could come out and win this thing.”
The Indians opened the final quarter on a 4-0 run and got within a possession, 34-31, on a layup by senior Tafari Moe with 6:26 to play.
Senior Kendal Henry (4 points, 5 rebounds) got the steal at midcourt, one of eight steals for the Indians.
“We’ve been in a lot of close games, so we felt comfortable there,” Sheppard said. “We just weren’t fortunate enough to get enough stops and couldn’t enough good offensive possessions. They kind of confused us a little bit and unfortunately, we’re on the losing side tonight.”
However, Fort White went without a basket for 3:30 and the Scorpions went on a 12-3 run, including shooting 6-for-8 at the free throw line in the final 2:45 to put the game on ice.
They shot 24 free throws in the second half and finished the game 17-of-31 from the line.
Crossroad’s Jabari Boahen (team-high 12 points) made five in a row in the final 1:38 and finished 10-of-16 from the charity stripe for the game.
“It wasn’t our night,” said Moe, who just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. “As far as the season, it was a great season. We made school history. Unfortunately, it didn’t finish like we wanted to, but it was a good season.”
They did something no other Fort White boys basketball team has been able to do.
“I’m super proud,” Sheppard said. “I’m so grateful to be here and have this opportunity. These kids have worked so hard. For them to get the fruits of their labor, it means a lot. It means a lot to our community. They showed up and showed out for us. It just makes us hungry and want to be here even more. It’s a great experience and we’re looking forward to coming back.”
