Lakewood Ranch books rematch with St. Pete High

His future isn’t on the basketball court, but the football field. As an offensive lineman, Sam Jackson’s college ticket is the University of Central Florida, a program he signed with in early February.

On Tuesday, though, Jackson’s involvement at the tail end of Lakewood Ranch’s 85-58 victory over Palmetto High in the Class 8A-Region 3 semifinals generated one of the most deafening cheers from the Mustangs’ student section.

The home crowd went crazy when Jackson caught a pass in the post, turned and dropped in a layup while getting fouled. The senior didn’t convert the free throw, but it didn’t matter at that juncture.

The Mustangs (26-2) already punched Friday’s region final ticket against St. Pete High, which defeated Tampa Bay Tech 85-77 in another region semifinal on Tuesday, when Jackson stepped to the free throw line.

“Sam’s one of the most popular kids in school for a really good reason,” Lakewood Ranch head coach Jeremy Schiller said. “He’s one of the nicest young men I’ve ever been around. Just a genuinely high-character guy. I think you can see it with the rest of our team. They’re really well-liked.”

Lakewood Ranch’s victory, coupled with St. Pete High’s win, means two things: a rematch with a Green Devils team that knocked the Mustangs from the playoffs in the same round a year ago, and the program’s first regional final at home.

Had Tampa Bay Tech won, the Mustangs would have gone on the road this Friday as Tech, a district champion, played at St. Pete High on Tuesday.

Against Palmetto, Lakewood Ranch used a suffocating defense and a balanced offense to blow out the Tigers (14-10) for a fourth time this season.

The Mustangs went on a 19-2 run between the end of the first quarter and the start of the second quarter to take control the game.

“I think the real key is when we get engaged and we’re clicking on defense and offense, we’re really tough to play against,” Schiller said.

Schiller said the goal for his team is to hold the opposition to under 40 percent from the field. On Tuesday, his defense accomplished that when Palmetto shot 37 percent from the floor.

Still, the Tigers made a brief rally when they closed within 12 points late in the third quarter.

Jermaine Graham led the rally and finished with a team-high 16 points. Dequan Kirce chipped in 12 points.

“We had some momentum, but we ran out of gas,” Palmetto head coach Reggie Bellamy said. “Their depth is what probably created problems for everybody this year. This is their time. We (already) had our time. It goes in cycles. Good luck. We have three seniors leaving, so we’ll have better opportunities to make a better grab at it next year.”

Palmetto point guard Jason Spicer rolled his ankle early in the first quarter, but he returned later in the period and played the remainder of the game with the injury.

“That’s just his style,” Bellamy said. “That kid is a very, very, very gutsy individual. He’s going to leave it all out on the court.”

Senior guard Sam Hester, junior guard Damien Gordon and junior guard/forward Evan Spiller led Lakewood Ranch’s attack with 15 points apiece.

This story was originally published February 21, 2017 at 10:41 PM with the headline "Lakewood Ranch books rematch with St. Pete High."