FLEMING ISLAND - Fleming Island’s Nate Lowery buried shots from the outside while Carson Crawford dominated the interior as the Golden Eagles overcame an early deficit to ease past visiting Tallahassee Lincoln 76-58 in a Region 1-5A quarterfinal on February 12.
In region 1-1A, St Johns Country Day School's boys basketball team ended their season with a 63-53 loss to North Florida Educational Institution. St. Johns finishes at 14-12 and with a district title.
The win was the eleventh in a row for third-ranked Fleming Island, which will host Tallahassee Leon in the regional semifinal on February 17.
Lowery led a brigade of Fleming Island marksmen with five three-pointers on just seven attempts. Five different Golden Eagles made three point shots as the hosts combined to make nine of 18 from beyond the arc. Fleming Island was especially accurate in the second quarter, making five of seven to turn a thin lead into a 40-25 halftime advantage. Lincoln converted just three of 14 from behind the line.
“Three-point shooting is a key,” said Fleming Island head coach Travis Chandler. “If you match that with a pressure defense, I think we’re a tough team to beat. Nate Lowery got hot and we started forcing some turnovers and that allowed us to have a huge second quarter.”
Fleming Island’s full court, man-to-man pressure forced 21 turnovers, though the Golden Eagles committed 20 of their own.
Lincoln started fast, hounding the Golden Eagles with the same man-to-man pressure defense that has been trademark of Fleming Island during Chandler’s nine-year tenure. The Trojans forced six Fleming Island turnovers in the first seven minutes, building a 16-12 lead on the strength of eight points from guard Eric Turral.
“We had just a little bit of nerves,” explained Chandler. “Guys needed to get their feet settled. The playoff atmosphere is new to all of these guys.”
The game turned in the final 30 seconds of the first quarter and the first four minutes of the second. Fleming Island guard Luke Frisbee drained a three from the left baseline with 0:22 on the clock. Wing Isaiah Robinson got a steal in the back-court on the ensuing Trojans possession and fed Crawford for a lay-up at buzzer, giving Fleming Island a 17-16 lead and fueling a 12-2 run over the next four minutes. After a put-back by Crawford, sophomore Joseph Johnson capped the spurt with a pair of free throws to put Fleming Island ahead 24-18. After a lay-up by Lincoln’s Malakhi Lowe drew the Trojans within 26-22, Fleming Island seized command with treys on three consecutive possessions. Johnson found the mark on the first from the top of the key, and Lowery followed up with two rainbows from the left baseline.
When Fleming Island did miss a jump shot, Crawford was there to snare the rebound. The 6’7” sophomore snared a game-high 16 caroms and scored 16 points, half of them on put-backs.
“The blocks and the rebounds are key to what he brings to the table,” Chandler said of Crawford. “It is huge, beyond the scoring. We are able to pressure the way that we did because we have him on the back side to clean things up.”
Lincoln pulled within 11 at the end of the third quarter on a steal and a lay-up by Elijah Knight, but the Golden Eagles quickly built their cushion to 17 on a conventional three-point play by Crawford and a three-pointer by Lowery from the left wing. The Trojans, who end their season with a 16-9 record, never threatened again. Chandler was glad that the Golden Eagles faced some adversity, and compared the comeback to one his squad had made against Jacksonville Jackson earlier this season.
“It is always good for them to see that no matter the hole, we are going to crawl back into the game. We have a little bit of experience with deficits like that, and we came back and won, so we were able to get it done tonight.”
Forward Landon Daugherty led the Trojans with 15 points, while Turral finished with 12.
There were 54 fouls called, 24 against Lincoln and 30 against Fleming. Lincoln scored 24 points from the free throw line on 36 attempts, while the Golden Eagles shot 17 of 24 from the charity stripe.
Twelve players scored for Fleming Island, which improves to 23-5. Chandler said he will be looking for a better start to the game and committing fewer turnovers against Leon (19-7).