Playing in its first state championship game since 1962, Bishop Kenny’s talented boys’ basketball team was ready to make history again.
Unfortunately, it was all but over in about three minutes as Kenny took its only lead of the game at 2-1 and never led again in a 66-42 loss to Kissimmee Poinciana in the FHSAA Class 5A State Championship Game on February 27 at the Lakeland Center.
Uncharacteristic turnovers and perhaps nerves got the best of the Crusaders (28-4) who fell behind early and could never seem to catch up.
According to Justin Barney from The Florida Times-Union, Bishop Kenny played their worst game of the year, and only shot 2-of-12 in the first quarter.
Despite the turnovers and shots not falling, the Bishop Kenny Crusaders only trailed 24-16 at the half.
Poinciana’s Eagles then switched to a stall offense, killing the clock and limiting the Crusaders offensive possessions.
Chris Joyce’s jumper cut the deficit to 24-18 just minutes into the third quarter, but the Eagles were able to stretch the lead to 18, their biggest lead of the game, at the end of the third quarter.
Poinciana’s advantage grew to as many as 24 in the closing minutes as BK senior Christian Carlyle was taken out of the game, closing out a tremendous high school career in which he moved into ninth place all-time in Jacksonville area scoring and second place all-time in Bishop Kenny scoring with 2,112 career points.
While the loss hurts, the senior class can look back and see how far they have come, taking the Crusaders to just their seventh Final Four and first since 2013.
Over the last four years, the Crusaders have gone 97-27 and have been to the Final Four twice; they lost in the Elite Eight in 2014 and suffered a first-round loss to Palatka last season.
To get to the final game, Kenny had to win a 55-54 nail-biter over Tampa Jesuit in the semifinals. In that game, Carlyle led the Crusaders with 28 points, while Joyce added nine and Gabe Merete chipped in eight points.
With an eight-point lead going into the fourth quarter, BK looked well on their way to advancing to the title game, but Jesuit had other ideas.
Up two points with 0.8 seconds left, BK was called for a foul, sending Jesuit to the line with a chance to tie the game. It looked all but over, but luckily Jesuit could only convert 1 of 2 free throws, sending the Crusaders into the championship game.
Sidebar: According to Barney, Carlyle surpassed former St. Joseph great Dwayne Preston and St. Augustine great John Randolph to move into ninth place all-time during the first half of the state semifinal win over Jesuit.
Special Feature / North Florida / April-May 2016
Christian Carlyle
Bishop Kenny High School
Jacksonville, Florida
Corey Davis
Bishop Kenny’s run falls short in title game
