Lakeland, Fla. — The Villages High School boys basketball team saw its season come to an end Thursday in Lakeland.

The Buffalo battled back but fell short in a Class 4A state semifinal duel with No. 1 Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville), suffering a 47-43 defeat inside the RP Funding Center.

VHS (20-12 overall) fought from a double-digit deficit in the second half to lead 39-36 with four minutes to play, only to see the top-seeded Tigers (26-3) rattle off a 7-0 run late to advance into Saturday's state championship game.

"Give Andrew Jackson a lot of credit ... that's what they do," said VHS head coach Colt McDowell, who has led the Buffalo to all four of the program's Final Four appearances in its history. "They want to outwork you, make it tough on you and make things muddy — and they did a good job of that. We did some uncharacteristic things and took some bad shots, which gave them some fastbreak opportunities. They forced us to play the game the way they wanted to play it."

The Buffalo shot 26.5% from the floor — worst in any game this season — making just 13-of-49 attempts from the field, while only knocking down 2-of-12 shots from beyond the arc. VHS also shot just 60% (15-of-25) from the free-throw line in the loss.

"The margin of error is so small, but it definitely feels like a missed opportunity," McDowell said. "But it's an opportunity we earned to miss, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I'm so proud of the growth of this team."

VHS scored the first five points of the state semifinal matchup, before Andrew Jackson rattled off nine straight to eventually hold a 14-10 lead through one period of play.

The Buffalo trudged through offensive struggles in the second quarter, trailing by as much as eight points — but pulling within three on multiple occasions — to ultimately look up at a 27-19 deficit at the break. VHS was just 6-of-26 shooting in the first half and missed six of seven attempts from the 3-point line.

A dunk in transition by Andrew Jackson's Jaylen Dopson opened the third quarter and put the Tigers up 29-19, before the Buffalo began their march back into the contest behind a spirited defensive effort. VHS forced the No. 1 team in Class 4A into coming up empty on five of its next six possessions, drawing within 33-27 entering the fourth and final quarter.

Once there, the Buffalo continued to make things difficult defensively, keeping the Tigers off the scoreboard for a span of 5:39 — bridging the third and fourth quarters, respectively — for a 10-0 run.

"We just knew we had to turn it up," said Buffalo sophomore Jared Thompson. "We were down and couldn't let it affect us. We just had to turn things up a notch."

After freshman Aaron Britt, Jr. swished a pair of free throws to tie things up at 35-35 with 7:07 left, Thompson banked home a layup off the glass to give VHS its first lead since 5-2 early in the opening period. 

The Villages led 39-36 after sophomore Kymani Weathers went 2-for-2 at the charity stripe with 4:51 to play, but that's when Andrew Jackson showed its top-seeded mettle with a 7-0 run of its own.

Trailing 44-41 with a minute to play, the Buffalo forced a turnover and McDowell called the team's final timeout just seconds later. Out of the break, Thompson found himself all alone for a 3-point attempt in the corner, but the shot went off the rim and VHS never found itself with an opportunity to tie or take the lead again.

"I'll live with (Thompson) shooting that ... I'll live and die with this kid shooting all day long," McDowell said of Thompson, who led the team with 51 made 3-pointers this season. "Jared Thompson, 3-pointer in the corner, I was honestly shocked that it didn't go in. We got the exact look we wanted, but that's this game."

Thompson finished with 11 points to lead VHS, while Chris Washington Jr. had nine points and five blocks, and Adyn Corbin finished with seven points. TayVion Lawson and Albert Laguerre had 15 and 14 points, respectively, to pace the Tigers, who will take on Gibbs (St. Petersburg) in the Class 4A state championship at 3 p.m. Saturday in Lakeland.

"We just have to live with the misses," Corbin said. "Definitely next year, we're going to come back harder and better."

Next season, VHS is projected to return seven of the eight players who saw action on Thursday inside the RP Funding Center.

"None of us wanted to lose this game and I'm honestly a little shocked that we did," McDowell said. "I truly believed we were going to win, but we let it slip away. It is what it is — we'll accept it — and we'll move on."



Cody Hills can be reached for questions or comment at cody.hills@tvcs.org or by calling (352) 259-6890.