Jackson’s Tigers are roaring back to a hometown final four.
Although Newberry orchestrated a masterful fight and trailed by three heading into the fourth, Jackson won its third straight Florida High School Athletic Association Region 1-3A boys basketball title and eighth, 75-60, on Feb. 28 on Jacksonville’s Northside.
Kai Washington scored a team-high 16 points for Newberry (21-4).
“Extremely athletic, good team, winning tradition here,” Panthers head coach Patrick Green said of Jackson. “It was the kind of game we knew it would be. We needed to hit the boards a little bit harder.”
The Tigers advance to the March 9 semifinals at UNF Arena as Jacksonville serves as FHSAA hoops host for the first time since 1976. Jackson is playing its seventh FHSAA semifinal in the last eight years.
Newberry (21-4) trimmed the margin to 51-50 early in the fourth quarter before Jackson raced away to win.
REGION 1-5A
Alexander Brown scored a game-high 13 points and Fleming Island completed a season sweep, 69-45 over visiting Columbia (17-12).
Bryce Robinson scored a dozen points and Ryan Turner had 10 for Fleming Island (22-8), which will play a March 11 semifinal at UNF Arena.
REGION 1-4A
Back in the final four for the first time in nearly a decade is Bishop Kenny (26-3), which pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 54-42 win over Tallahassee Godby (20-7).
Joe Joseph sank five 3-pointers after halftime for the Crusaders, who will play in a March 10 FHSAA semifinal at UNF.
REGION 1-2A
The new year of dominance rolls on for Providence, which stormed to a 64-37 win over Orlando First Academy (19-11).
The Stallions (27-3), winners of three state championships in the 2010s, next play March 6 at UNF.
REGION 1-1A
Top seed Impact Christian nailed down another chance at final-four basketball, winning 61-46 over North Florida Educational Institute (15-14).
The Lions (27-4) advance to the March 5 semifinals at UNF Arena.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: FHSAA basketball: Five Northeast Florida teams win boys regionals
Reporting by Clayton Freeman and Noah Ram, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
