Four bad minutes derailed Paxon’s run for a spot in the boys basketball state championship game.
The Golden Eagles endured a miserable start to the fourth quarter and fell to Stranahan 59-54 in the Class 4A state semifinals on Thursday at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
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While they made a push later in the period to get within single digits, that hole, which grew to as many as 12 with just over a minute to play, was too deep for the Golden Eagles to dig out of.
Paxon’s season ended in the state semifinals for the second consecutive season and wrapped up the career of one of Isaiah Adams, one of the best players in Golden Eagles history. Adams finished with 29 points and nine rebounds for Paxon.
The Golden Eagles were undone by a miserable start to the fourth quarter.
Paxon entered the fourth trailing 37-36 but went more than four minutes without a point before Josue Rivera knocked down a 3-pointer to end a 10-0 Stranahan blitz. Paxon was 0 for 7 from the field in that span with three turnovers.
That lull was the difference in the game for the Golden Eagles (25-6).
Stranahan (23-9), which won the 6A state title last year, controlled the game in the paint, both outscoring and outrebounding Paxon.