FIRST COAST – Back in early March, Fletcher pulled off one of the most amazing accomplishments of all time winning five straight playoff games in five straight days to claim the 2018 Duval County Middle School Boys Basketball title.
Kirby Smith erased an early 8 point deficit to tie the game late and send the highly anticipated contest into overtime, in the championship game.
Yet Fletcher would pull away in the extra period thanks to 18 points from MVP Seth Allen to win the game and city championship 43-37 win over Kirby Smith.
Head coach Ryan Fennell set a goal for his Fletcher team before their last game of the regular season proclaiming “We’ve got to win five in a row”. In order to be crowned champion, Fletcher knew they had to accomplish the unprecedented.
Faced with a win or go home situation in the regular season finale, Fletcher stunned visiting Kernan 64-53 at home to force a three-way tiebreaker for the East Division title.
The win created a three-way tie between Arlington (10-2, 8-2), Kernan (10-2, 8-2) and Fletcher (9-3, 8-2), Arlington won the coin toss and earned the bye forcing Fletcher and Kernan to play in the first round of the tiebreaker.
A night later, Fletcher (10-3) stunned Kernan again 41-40 to move on to the East Division title game against Arlington.
Yet the victory didn’t come without a price as all conference player and leading scorer Lajae Jones suffered a season ending injury. Nevertheless, at Arlington, Fletcher jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back winning 42-36.
The victory ensured that Fletcher would advance to the city semifinals to face Jeff Davis a day later. On the Westside, Fletcher jumped out again, this time to an 18 point lead and held off the Chargers 48-46 to advance to the championship game.
Winning four playoff games in four days is an incredibly hard thing to do, but they would have to face their toughest test of the year in Kirby Smith if they wanted to be crowned champions.
Kirby came into the game the hands on favorite to win it all this season in boys middle school action.
Kirby’s biggest challenge was the North division, after defeating three-time champion Matthew Gilbert and overcoming challenges like Oceanway and Highlands, and then Mandarin in their playoff game.
The victory over the Panthers though put the city on notice of how talented the team was, and how determined and focused they seemed to be.
Yet their focus would be rattled early on in the championship game, when Fletcher jumped out to an eight point first period advantage.
Incredible ball movement flustered the Comets leaving open three pointers by Fletcher. Jerell Sheppard started the game hot hitting shots from downtown. Center Will Moon would hit a shot from down low in the paint to send the Senator fans into a tizzy, as Fletcher took an early 8-1 lead.
After a Fletcher timeout, Kirby Smith would settle down. Their focus at the start of the game was to stop Allen, however their focus shifted to harassing the Fletcher guards.
This strategy worked as Fletcher turned the ball over several times. Kirby Smith’s Josh Gordon (8 pts) was able to take advantage by securing steals and fast break points. His effort galvanized his team yet Kirby still trailed 10-3 after one.
In the second period defense would rule the court. Fletcher would only muster half of the points they scored in the first. The long arms of Bruce Gee and the quickness of Deven Smith kept Fletcher’s offensive weapons at bay.
The Comets also began to hit their shots closing the lead to four points at halftime 15-11. The third period saw Kirby Smith take its first lead of the game 17-15 on a three pointer.
Kirby scored six unanswered points to start the period. However Fletcher would respond and take a 21-18 lead going into the fourth.
At this point in the game, the crowd knew it would be a close finish, and the pressure began to mount in the gym. However both teams refused to burst from the pressure, instead, making diamonds in the rough championship atmosphere.
Tied late in the fourth period Seth Allen hit two crucial free throws to give Fletcher a lead. Allen was held in check in the first half, but began to create his own shot in the second half.
Missed shots on both ends in the closing seconds would send the game into overtime.
It would be the 21st period of basketball Fletcher would play in five days. As a comparison, a normal regular season week sees teams play just 8 periods of basketball in seven days. Yet Fletcher would not be fazed.
In overtime, Sheppard would hit a big three pointer to give the Senators a 37-34 lead. With a lead, Fletcher’s coach Ryan Fennell elected to hold the basketball and count on his play maker Seth Allen to bring them home. He would deliver.
With no shot clock in middle school basketball, Kirby Smith was forced to foul putting Allen on the foul line.
Time after time Allen would walk to the line and sink both sets of free throws. In the end, Allen would go 10 for 10 from the line increasing the lead for Fletcher and bringing the championship home for his team.
“I’m just so proud of my teammates for stepping up when they (Kirby) tried to take me out of the game, it’s a total team victory,” Allen said.
After falling short to Matthew Gilbert in the championship game two years ago, Fletcher returned with a fabulous five game run to end the year as champs.
