Lakeland- Dallan “Deebo” Coleman is headed to Georgia Tech to play college basketball. Yet before he rises above the rim on Peach Tree in Atlanta, he rose to the occasion on Lime Street in Lakeland, scoring 33 points in West Nassau’s last second loss to Santa Fe.
With 20 seconds left in the game, West Nassau went ahead of Santa Fe 63-62 on a Simeon Womack 3-pointer. Santa Fe would inbound the ball as Dontrell Jenkisn drove the length of the court, dishing it to Willie Lewis who laid the ball in with just 2 seconds remaining to go ahead 64-63. West Nassau would inbound the ball right after the score, but run out of time before advancing the ball to mid court.
It was a heartbreaking way to end the game as Deebo Coleman and company didn’t have an opportunity to make one last shot to win the game. Odds are he would’ve, as Coleman took over the game from the start. Trailing by as much a 15 points in the first half, West Nassau was able to chip away and trail only by 3 points 32-29 at halftime. Coleman had 23 of the Warriors 29 points.
The talented senior put the entire repertoire on display for the crowd at the RP Funding Center. Three pointers from the NBA stripe, jab step pull up jumpers, drives to the basket, dunks, you name it, he did it. It led one sports commentator to say that the 6’6 guard was “a combination of Steph Curry and Clay Thompson at the high school level”.
The Warriors would wake up in the second half as other players began to step up. Sophomore Forward Keenan Johnson scored two of his six points on a left handed put back dunk. Guard Leon Whitley scored 7 points in the game, creating shots off the dribble. Their play led to West Nassau taking the lead 56-48 with 3 minutes to play in the fourth.
However, Santa Fe deserves a lot of credit in their response to Coleman and response to trailing in the game. Their star player, 6 foot 9 NC State commit Poppa Ross, fouled out of the game, and the Raiders were forced to play the entire fourth quarter without him. They doubled Coleman on defense, forcing him to give up the rock. On offense, guard Dontrell Jenkisn registered a steal, hit jumpers and knocked down free throws. His biggest play was the dish to Lewis for the last second lay up, as the clock expired and the celebration began for Santa Fe.
West Nassau’s 14 game winning streak came to an end in the Class 4A state semifinal. Yet there is nothing for the Warriors to hold their head down upon. Head Coach Ran Coleman motivated his team during the season and they responded, getting all the way to Lakeland and seconds away from playing in their first state championship game. Coleman will be in the running for Mr Basketball honors, continuing a trend of athletes from Northeast Florida to be considered for the prestigious award. His steady advancement in skill, saw West Nassau advance in scoring and record. They finish the season at 20-12.
Santa Fe will face Pine Crest Saturday for the championship after their 68-47 win over Astronaut in the Class 4A semifinal game.
Featured Image by West Nassau Athletics
