LAKELAND, Fla. — The Leesburg Yellow Jackets jumped out to a big lead over Ft. Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons in the first quarter of the Class 4A boys basketball state title game on Saturday and never let up the rest of the way.
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Leesburg (28-4) was hardly threatened throughout the afternoon, even as Cardinal Gibbons got within six points midway through the fourth quarter. The Jackets eventually held off any rally to dispose of the Chiefs 66-58.
"I told these guys from Day 1 what our goal was," first-year coach Marcel Thomas said. "I knew we had the talent there, it was just a matter of how much work we was willing to put in. It's been a great ride for us."
The Yellow Jackets, which got out to a 16-point lead at one point in the third quarter, left Lakeland with its first state championship since 1977.
Leesburg shot 48-percent from the floor and made 17-of-29 shots at the stripe as they led 17-11 after one period and went up 27-17 at the halftime break.
The all-around efforts of several key players were too much for Cardinal Gibbons to overcome.
Joe Toolie led the way for Leesburg by hitting 5-of-7 3-pointers in all to finish with 18 points, four rebounds and four assists. D'Mauri Jones capped the game with 17 points and three rebounds while Teron Wallace added 14 points, four rebounds and four assists in the win.