The Mariner Tritons never overcame a slow start Wednesday afternoon, falling 53-37 to the top-seeded team from Miami Norland in the Class 5A basketball Final Four semifinals at Lakeland.

Mariner (20-10) fell behind 12-4 after the first quarter and trailed 25-12 at the half.

Marcus Kelley Jr. led Mariner with 15 points.

Norland (20-10) advanced to face Tampa Blake in the championship this Friday. Blake (26-5) defeated Daytona Beach Mainland 53-40 in the second semifinal.

The Tritons were in the Final Four for the first time since 2016-17, when they reached the title game before falling. That was also the case in 1995-96, when a Mariner team that had current coach Ryan Hercek on the roster lost to Mainland.

That same 1995-96 team featured Teddy Dupay, who, at the time, held the national high school career scoring record with 3,744 points.

Dupay’s mark remains the state scoring record in Florida.