LAKELAND — The 2024-25 Indians got farther than any team before them.
But after accomplishing their goal of getting to Lakeland, a punishing Crossroad Academy defense stymied any further progress.
Fort White pulled to within three with six minutes to go in the fourth quarter before a 12-6 Scorpions run put the game away in a 46-37 loss in the Class Rural state semifinals at the RP Funding Center. The Scorpions will advance to play in Friday’s championship game against Hawthorne, a 69-44 winner over Graceville in the other semis matchup.
“I thought we came out a little bit flat,” FWHS coach Elven Sheppard said. “We gave the ball away a little too much and gave up some easy ones. But I thought once we settled in in the second half, we did the same thing to them.
“We kind of made it a ballgame, but we kind of ran out of steam…”
The signs were there for Fort White from the start. The Scorpions (17-9) held the Indians (15-10) scoreless for the first three minutes until a Tafari Moe layup tied the game at 2 apiece. The first quarter was something of a rock fight, with Fort White turning the ball over four times in the quarter.
Compounding the turnovers was guard Kendal Henry being forced to sit with a pair of fouls with 1:47 remaining in the quarter. Crossroad scored the last three points of the quarter with Henry out to take a 9-6 lead at the end of the period. Henry finished with four points, five rebounds and two assists.
The Indians again managed just six points in the second quarter, going 2 for 8 from the field while watching the Scorpions hit on a pair of 3-pointers from guard Forrest Dudley, including one at the halftime buzzer. After Fort White had cut the deficit to six on guard Darion Brinson’s midrange jumper off a Jayden Jackson assist, Crossroad pushed the ball up the court with guard Jabari Boahen finding Dudley in the corner for the 3-ball to put their team up 21-12 heading into the break.
Boahen finished with a game-high 12 points to go with three assists, most of his points coming in the second half by going 8 for 12 at the free throw line.
Moe and Jackson changed their team’s fortunes somewhat in the third quarter. The Scorpions opened on a 6-2 run before Moe caught a pass from Jackson inside and banged home the layup, drawing a foul and completing the and-1 opportunity. Jackson went down with an injury shortly after, grasping at his leg near the Fort White bench as trainers tended to him with 3:33 left in the quarter.
Jackson wasn’t deterred. Coming back in after a Desean Lally 3-pointer, Jackson hit 1 of 2 at the foul line before jacking up a pair of 3s of his own, leading his team to just a seven-point deficit heading into the fourth. Jackson finished with a team-high 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting along with three assists and two rebounds.
“It’s the will to never quit,” Jackson said of coming back from the injury. “Coming out with this mindset that our whole team has is ‘never quit,’ and when we have that mindset, we always come back hungry.”
After a 2-for-2 trip at the line from Henry, Jackson then assisted on a Moe lay-in with 6:22 remaining to pull the Indians within 3.
“We’ve been in a lot of close games, so we felt comfortable there,” Sheppard said. “But we couldn’t get enough stops, we couldn’t get enough good offensive possessions. They kind of confused us a little bit.”
It’d be as close as the Indians got the rest of the way. Boahen hit a layup off a Jamari Stokes assist to push the lead back out to five, prompting a Fort White timeout. Another pair of Scorpions layups on fast breaks came before another 3 from Lally, who finished with six points and three steals, cut the lead back down to six with 2:48 left.
But it’d be the last points the Indians would score before a consolation 3 at the buzzer. The free throws eventually caught up to Fort White. After giving up 14 attempts in the third quarter, the Scorpions tried 10 more in the fourth, hitting six of them to begin to pull away late. Crossroad hit on 17 of 31 attempts from the line compared to Fort White’s 6 of 9.
Still, Sheppard credited the Scorpions for their game plan coming in. After warning all week about its aggressive defense, Crossroad forced 18 Fort White turnovers for the game.
“Kudos to Crossroad, great group of guys, well-coached,” Sheppard said. “…We wanted to move the ball, attack them, move and get to the basket in the middle and go get some layups.
“But it felt like we were a little too stagnant a lot. We didn’t really run a lot of our sets, and it hurt us.”
While getting to Lakeland was his stated goal throughout the season, Moe agreed the moment was bittersweet at best. The senior guard finished just shy of a double-double in his final high school game with nine points and nine rebounds.
“It is (bittersweet),” Moe, a Harvard-bound football player, said. “But you take your losses like your wins. All we can do is keep our head up and just keep moving forward.”
Moe and Henry, the two senior starters along with reserve forward Tre Holley, won’t get another opportunity to return. Jackson, a junior, said the mission now is to take at least one more step forward next season after saying goodbye to the seniors.
“Those guys will be missed,” Jackson said. “They’re a big, special part of this group. They led us this far.
“…There’s a bitter taste in my mouth after we lost, but we’ll come back hungrier next year and be ready to fight.”
Sheppard agreed. After leading his team to its first regional title and Final Four appearance, he’s ready for more.
“I’m super proud,” Sheppard said. “I’m so grateful to be here and have this opportunity. These kids have worked so hard. For them to get the fruits of their labor, it means a lot. It means a lot to our community. They showed up and showed out for us. It just makes us hungry, makes us want to be here even more.
“We’re looking forward to coming back.”