'Keep believing, keep fighting': Raines rallies past Paxon in Gateway basketball semifinal

For three quarters, Raines coach Torien Moore watched as the basketball simply would not fall for the Vikings' usual leading scorer.

Moore didn't give up. Neither did Ta'veon Dunbar.

"You've got to keep shooting and you can't let it get in your head," Moore said. "We've been practicing free throws all week long, pressure free throws, and he got it done for us tonight."

In a basketball epic that heard fire and felt rain, Raines overcame a condensation delay, a fire alarm and a double-digit deficit to defeat host Paxon 50-48 in Friday's Gateway Conference boys basketball semifinal, a showdown that stretched 24 hours and six minutes from Thursday's opening tip to Dunbar's game-winning points at 7:29 p.m.

Fouled in the corner while attempting a 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds remaining, Dunbar hit all three free throws to cap a comeback to remember for the Vikings (18-5), who had trailed by 11 points at the four-minute mark.

"I told them to keep believing, keep fighting, man," said Moore, the first-year coach for a Vikings team that has nearly tripled last year's win total.

Pursuing its first championship for Duval County public schools since 2005, Raines advances to a 3:30 p.m. Saturday final at Jackson, which edged Ribault 49-46 in a similar thriller Thursday night.

DUNBAR SHINES DOWN STRETCH

Shut out for a half, and still without a basket from the field for three quarters, junior Dunbar broke out when it mattered most.

Raines trailed 46-35 at the 4:03 mark when Dunbar unleashed the start of a scoring tsunami. He tallied 13 of his 15 points in the final period, sparking a 9-0 run and bringing the Vikings back within a score with an old-fashioned 3-point play at the 1:01 mark.

After Paxon guard Jacob Delos Santos hit one of two free throws, Dunbar responded again, drilling a three from dead center to tie the score 47-47 with 23 seconds to go.

Then, after Golden Eagles center Brysan Yearby converted one of two free throws for a 48-47 lead with 5.7 seconds left, Raines found the perfect play. Senior point guard Ja'zon Taylor dribbled up the floor, evaded two Paxon players and found Dunbar in the corner, where he drew a foul by Paxon's Delvin Bell while shooting to set up the winning points.

"It was drawn up and literally he did exactly what I said," Moore said. "Go to the corner, and it was there."

PAXON DEFENSE STANDS OUT

From the last act of the second quarter, when Paxon's Delos Santos drained a 3-pointer from nearly 25 feet for a 23-22 halftime lead, Paxon looked like a team ready to fight for a second Gateway trophy in five seasons.

The Golden Eagles stifled Raines through the third quarter and for much of the fourth, controlling the boards with the energy of Yearby (12 points) and locking down shooting chances on the perimeter.

Delos Santos (13 points) and Jaceon Hughes stretched Paxon's lead, and when Dameon Jones hit a layup off a spin in the lane with four minutes to go, the Golden Eagles seemed safe.

But misses from the free throw line in both halves and late turnovers proved costly for Paxon (17-3), which missed out on the chance to add to its Gateway collection from 1963, 1964 and 2020.

Ranked second and third in the Florida High School Athletic Association's formula for Region 1-4A, the schools could meet again in next month's regional playoffs.

TEAMS OVERCOME CONDENSATION, FIRE ALARM

Neither team expected to be playing semifinal basketball on Friday.

The teams' Thursday night start went on hold at the 4:55 mark of the opening quarter, when administrators and officials halted play because of condensation that slickened the edges of the court. Paxon staff members scrubbed away for 20 minutes before calling a postponement.

Thus, on Friday, Paxon navy and gold and Raines cardinal and white returned to the same court with the same remaining score (5-2) and the same remaining time, just like a return from some 22-hour timeout.

While water didn't disrupt the proceedings Friday, a different surprise briefly jolted both teams as they left the floor for halftime when the fire alarm blasted inside the gym for 20 to 30 seconds.

Paxon athletic director Steve Brown said that a machine used to buff floors overheated, disgorged a plume of smoke and tripped a smoke detector.

MOMENTUM BUILDS FOR RAINES

But neither water nor fire nor the Golden Eagles' air attack could thwart the Vikings.

With district tournaments tipping off in a week and a half, Raines already appears to have a chance for its deepest run in years, maybe even since their back-to-back state titles under Doug White in 2003 and 2004.

In addition to high scorer Dunbar, Raines' weapons are many, including the height of 6-8 Zion Kemp and 6-9 Makai Purkiss, the energy of freshman Terrance Walker and the quickness of seasoned senior guard Jeremiah White.

Since a 24-point loss to Ponte Vedra at the end of November, Raines has lost only one game against area opposition.

"I'm so proud of my boys. We stayed together," Moore said. "We've been through a lot of adversity this year, man. And it's our time."

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Raines Vikings-Paxon Golden Eagles: Gateway Conference boys basketball