JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Andrew Jackson boys' basketball team claimed its fifth Gateway Conference title in the last seven seasons after defeating Raines 57-48.
This battle was a rematch from earlier this season when the Tigers defeated the Vikings by 22 points.
To start the championship game, Raines held its own, leading early 10-4. But after Andrew Jackson took the lead around the five-minute mark in the second quarter, they never relinquished it, going on to win by nine.
After the game, head coach James Collins and shooting guard Ronald Durham emphasized that this was just the first of three goals they have set for the season: Gateway Conference title, District title, and State title.
"I'm very proud of them. It has been a hard year for them. I've put a lot on them, and they've responded," said Collins. "Hopefully, we can keep this going, and we better work even harder to get that District and State championship. So, we're going to continue to come in the gym and try to get better and reach our goals."
"We got three championships we're trying to win, and this is one step. So, next game, we got to get better," said Durham. "This feels good because it's pushing us as a team because later down the road, we're going to have bigger games, better teams. So, we got to be able to play against the refs, the crowd and the other teams. So, we got to be ready for that."
Andrew Jackson will look to win its first state title since 1993.