Gibbs High boys basketball team is state runner up    

March 7, 2025    

After appearing in four straight final four tournaments, the Gibbs High School Boys Varsity Basketball team fell one point short of winning back-to-back state titles Thursday night in Lakeland.

The Gladiators lost to Ft. Lauderdale Stranahan 63-62 despite being up by six points with 20 seconds left. 

Senior point guard and team captain Jacob Daniels, who has been a key contributor on the Gibbs squad since his freshman year, scored a team-high 19 points. Other key contributors on the court were senior Isaiah Medina, sophomore Oneal Delancy and senior Bobby Crawford.

This was Gibbs’ fourth straight appearance in the FHSAA 4A Final Four tournament. They defeated Eustis 65-50 on Tuesday to advance to the championship.

Head Coach Larry Murphy, who was named the NFHS Coach of the Year in a presentation after Tuesday night’s game, said this team is a special group.

"For four years, this core group has been a special group to coach," Murphy said in a post-game interview. "Unfortunately, we didn't finish the job."

Murphy said Daniels, in particular, had been working toward a second state title since the moment they stepped off the court after last year’s win.

“Jacob is a competitor. He's a winner and does everything he needs to do to try to get his team a victory,” Murphy said. “He’s a dream to coach and a great leader who has rubbed off tremendously on his teammates.”

Gibbs was on a 20-game winning streak coming into the state championship game. The team is ranked 33^rd in the country by MaxPreps.