Region basketball: King's Jermaine Council joins 1,000-point club on historic run to state
WEST PALM BEACH — Charged up by a 30-point performance from point guard Jermaine Council, King's Academy picked up its 26th win of the season in an 81-70 region quarterfinal against a gritty Santa Fe Catholic.
The Lakeland-based squad's hopes of a backyard appearance in the Class 3A state championship were squashed as King's boys continued their push to join the school's girls on a nicely paved playoff route to RP Funding Center.
"At the start of the year, we weren’t in any rankings and we weren’t favored to win our district, but we just used that as motivation to prove everyone wrong," Council said.
The Hawks (17-12) were led by prominent 3-point shooters Aiden Jones, Tate Darner and Zeq Munoz — all hungry.
But the food chain prevailed and Council, the Lion, was especially ravenous.
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Council's 16-point scoring flurry out of the gate saw King's tied with Santa Fe at 21 to end the first period.
Two quarters later, the junior became a member of the 1,000-point club, cheered on by students in the stands, including girls basketball's Janessa Williams, another member of the exclusive group.
Not the only one on King's roster to make a career-high total, Council was supported by a 28-point game from Javian Jones.
The sophomore hit a second gear with 11 in the third quarter, completing 92% of shots on the night to zero in on the victory.
"We feed off each other on the football field and the basketball court — our chemistry has been getting better during the season," Jones said, adding the wide-receiver duo "showed it" against SFC.
"Coming together as a team — it's prepared us for this playoff run right now," Jones said.
For Council, the win meant "a lot" more than advancing or the midgame ceremony with a commemorative framed graphic and a photo opportunity.
He recalled being a freshman, warming the bench at Dwyer with not a single point to his name.
Against the odds of depth for days with the now nationally ranked Panthers, Council enrolled at King's ahead of his sophomore year and was asked by head coach Murray Smith to play a "big role."
"I just took on the challenge," Council said.
In his first year starting on varsity, Council scored 551 points — an average of 20.4 points per game — and helped King's to its first 20-win season.
No different in 2023, Council is still leading the team in points per game to more milestones.
The Lions' ticket to the postseason was punched by a 76-70 district championship win over Benjamin. Ending the 33-year title drought wouldn't have been possible without Council's semifinal stats against John Carroll Catholic (17-10): a team-leading 17 points.
Ahead of a trip to two-seed Bell Creek Academy (24-4) in Riverview for region semifinals on Tuesday, Council's point total on the season comes to 449.
With one more year on the high school hardwood to go, Council can try to work his way into the 2,000-point club by graduation.
Emilee Smarr is the high school sports reporter for the Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: King's Jermaine Council joins 1,000-point club on historic run to state
