Fantastic finish, slippery start: Jackson wins thriller, Paxon-Raines postponed in Gateway

One fantastic finish.

One slippery start.

Jackson forward Ronald Durham was the star, and innumerable water droplets were the spoilers, in the wild -- and wet -- Thursday night's Gateway Conference boys basketball semifinals held at Paxon.

Durham sank the game-winning basket with under 10 seconds to go, overcoming another ace performance by Ribault guard Caleb Williams to edge the Northside rivals 49-46 in the latest classic in the Jacksonville basketball rivalry.

But the expected second semifinal between Raines and Paxon barely got off the ground, derailed by condensation at the floor's edge that forced officials to suspend the game after barely three minutes.

The teams planned to resume at 6 p.m. Friday inside Paxon's gym, just as the game stood at the time of the interruption: Raines 5, Paxon 2, with 4:55 remaining in the first quarter.

SOGGY STOPPAGE AT PAXON

Instead of calling plays Friday evening, Paxon coach Kenny Elliott and his assistants spent more than 20 minutes as an unofficial towel brigade, fighting to dry the floor on an unseasonably warm and humid day for January.

Instead, the water was the winner. School administrators declared the game a postponement at 8:01 p.m. Thursday.

Paxon athletic director Steve Brown said indications pointed to issues with air conditioning operation, or lack thereof, which permitted visible condensation to form hazardously on the floor inches from the border of the court.

Two Golden Eagles found out just how hazardous inside the opening three minutes. At opposite ends of the floor, center Brysan Yearby and forward Jaceon Hughes careened wildly into the walls, only seconds apart. Both appeared to escape injury.

The domino effect from the semifinal postponement extends beyond Paxon's gym: It also nudges the championship game back one day, to Saturday evening at Jackson. Jackson was originally scheduled to play host to the title game on Friday.

JACKSON-RIBAULT: RONALD DURHAM WINS THRILLER

Jackson-Ribault III -- Ribault had beaten Jackson 48-45 on Dec. 12, before the Tigers turned the tables 63-55 on Dec. 27 -- lived up to the hype yet again.

The Tigers (18-3), winners of 13 straight, exploited their strength on the boards to overcome a shaky shooting start and build a double-digit advantage midway through the third quarter.

But Williams, coming off a 33-point effort in the quarterfinal against Riverside, led the Trojans (16-6) back. He shaved the lead to one score with an NBA-range 3-pointer with five minutes left, and after Durham responded with his own three, Williams tied the score in a magic minute. He drew a foul in the corner, sank both free throws, then drove the lane for an old-fashioned 3-point play to level the game with 30.6 seconds left.

The 2022-23 All-First Coast player of the year finished with a game-high 32 points, but Jackson had one highlight left.

Durham, who fueled the Tigers from start to finish, then put his mark on the night with a drive and a finish to restore Jackson's edge. A Ribault 3-point try missed the mark, Albert Laguerre grabbed the rebound, Laguerre hit one of two from the line with 1.7 seconds remaining, Williams' 60-footer drifted wide at the buzzer and Jackson fans finally got a moment to relax.

The Northside foes could meet twice more in 2023-24. Both teams occupy District 3-4A, meaning Jackson and Ribault could subsequently face off in the Florida High School Athletic Association district and regional playoffs as they did last winter.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Gateway basketball: Jackson-Ribault, Paxon-Raines game postponed