Tigers roar again: Jackson defeats Paxon in Gateway Conference boys basketball repeat

Swarming and scoring, Jackson's basketball squad set the bar high Friday night.

Now, head coach James Collins expects them to keep it up.

"I expect us to come out like this every game," the longtime Tigers coach said.

A crushing start. A winning finish.

Launching a 12-0 run from the opening whistle, Jackson never looked back, defeating Paxon 53-28 in the Main Street gym and repeating as Jacksonville's public school boys basketball champions in the Gateway Conference final.

From the tall (Stephon Payne) to the small (Kevin Odom), Jackson once again cemented its domination of the Duval County hoops scene, winning the fourth Gateway title in the past five years in devastating fashion.

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Payne led with 14 points, Michael Swift scored 13 and the Tigers once more reigned on the First Coast.

In the space of 72 hours, Jackson beat Ribault, Fletcher and Paxon — teams with a total record of 49-17 (.742) — by a combined 89 points, blasting a loud and clear watch-out message to Florida foes.

The Tigers (21-2) have qualified for the state final four in each of the past three seasons, and they're in the hunt for a repeat trip. Through Friday night, they stand first in Class 4A and third statewide in the Florida High School Athletic Association's rankings.

The winning blueprint showed up strong again Friday: Around the hoop, the 6-7 towers of Payne and James Morrow disrupted Paxon's penetration. Odom controlled the tempo from the outside, and a pack of Tigers — Swift, Andre Myers, Fred Gaines, Joseph Bargeron and more — pressed in the backcourt, clogged the passing lanes and snatched the ball away again and again.

Collins particularly credited the work of Odom, who's listed at 5-7 and 130 pounds but came up big all night long.

"He's really giving us everything that we need to get in, and these guys are just playing together," Collins said. "As long as we play together, it's going to be hard to beat us."

Odom sank the Tigers' opening basket for the first of his eight points, while Swift tallied a block, a steal and an assist inside the opening two minutes to set the tone as wave after wave of Jackson players smothered the Golden Eagles.

That was too much for Paxon (20-3), who had defeated No. 1 seed Riverside in Wednesday's semifinals. Although Paxon clawed back within single digits after halftime, boosted by Camden Tyner's team-leading nine points, Jackson quickly slammed the door shut.

Payne, who had briefly left the contest after a crunching collision in the third quarter, seized control inside with blocks and dunks to bury Paxon's hopes.

"I'm just proud he came and brought it tonight," Collins said.

Jackson completed its first sweep of the boys and girls Gateway championships since the 2006-07 season.

The Tigers, whose only losses this season came back-to-back in December against independent Potter's House Christian and then Jackson, stretched their winning streak to 15 games.

Jackson's last FHSAA championship came in 1993, the year Collins became the city's first-ever Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Basketball. The confidence is high again — as long as the Tigers don't let up.

"Right now, the way we're playing," Collins said, "the only person that can beat us is ourselves."

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jackson boys basketball wins 2022 Gateway Conference championship