It was eight minutes that Jackson would love to have back.
A miserable second quarter ended the Tigers’ season in a 79-71 loss to Bishop McLaughlin Catholic on Wednesday in the Class 3A state semifinals at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. It was Jackson’s third straight trip to the state final four and first time that it won’t be advancing to the championship game.
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The Tigers had finished as state runner-up each of the previous two trips for coach James Collins.
Jackson will agonize on how this one got away.
While the Tigers made a charge in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to four on a 3-pointer by Jackie Simmons III with 22 seconds to play, this one was all but sealed during a miserable second quarter that left the hole too deep to dig out of.
The Tigers (19-7) were in sync until the early minutes of the second quarter, up by eight points and settling into a rhythm.
By the midway point of the quarter, the Tigers were treading water and trying everything they could to hang on. Jackson couldn’t do anything to put a speed bump in front of Emanuel Sharp, who tore through the Tigers with ease in whatever he did.
Sharp had a staggering 24 of his 39 points in the second quarter alone. He hit all 10 of his free throw attempts and went 6 for 7 from the field.
Fouls were a backbreaker for Jackson.
The Tigers sent Bishop McLaughlin players to the free throw line 49 times. Sharp did the bulk of that damage, hitting 21 of his 22 foul shots. Jackson had 19 trips to the stripe. Simmons had 15 points, while Michael Swift and Bryce Turner added 11 points apiece for the Tigers.
The area is sending at least one team to the state finals.
Impact Christian surged back to beat Southwest Florida Christian 69-54 in the Class 2A state semifinal and advance to Saturday’s title game against nationally ranked Orlando Christian Prep. West Nassau will play its Class 4A semifinal on Thursday at 10 a.m.