EPISCOPAL – Providence sealed its spot as the best team in North Florida sweeping First Coast, Bolles and then Bishop Kenny in the title game Saturday at Episcopal to win the Inaugural Fortegra High School 9:12 Invitational title.
Ahren Freeman, led the Stallions to the title averaging 21 points a game over the three days to secure the MVP of the tournament. Joining Freeman on the All-Tournament team were Kevin Finley (First Coast), Max McQuiddy (Episcopal), Patrick Larmoyeux (Bishop Kenny) and John Abate (Orange Park).
Invitational MVP Ahren Freeman scored a game-high 23 points in the championship game, bringing his average to 21 points over all 3 games. #DecemberMadness pic.twitter.com/ixq3CmV4hj
— Airstream Ventures (@AirstreamV) December 16, 2018
Providence 66, Bishop Kenny 27
Freeman, a 6-foot-6 senior, scored a game-high 23 points Saturday night as Providence won the first Fortegra High School 9:12 Invitational with a 66-27 victory over Bishop Kenny (5-2) at Episcopal High School.
Providence (7-1) forced 12 Bishop Kenny turnovers in the first half and Freeman led the way with 10 points for a 28-19 lead at the break. The Stallions cemented the win by scoring the first 20 points of the second half in the regionally televised game.
The Stallions only loss this season came Dec. 1 at Montverde (Fla.) Academy, last year’s national champion, as chosen by USA Today, and the current No. 1 team in the nation. The victory improved head coach Jim Martin career record to 487-95 in 19 seasons at Providence.
Freeman was the leading scorer in the game with 23 points, while Norman Haynes added 11 points, Christian Bailey 8 points and Noah Mitchell 8 points as well.
Bolles 62, Episcopal 49
The Crouch brothers combined for 29 points Saturday afternoon as Bolles beat Episcopal 62-49 to capture third place in the Fortegra High School 9:12 Invitational at Episcopal High School.
Davey Crouch, a senior guard, scored 13 of his game-high 16 points in the second half, including a four-point play which pushed him over the 1,000-point career mark. Bolles (9-1) led by 16 points in the third quarter before Episcopal cut the deficit to single figures with just under two minutes to play. Junior Max McQuiddy led the Eagles (4-4) with 15 points.
First Coast 54, Ponte Vedra 47
Kevin Finley scored a team-high 16 points Saturday afternoon as First Coast (5-3) beat Ponte Vedra 54-47 to capture fifth place in the Fortegra High School 9:12 Invitational at Episcopal High School.
Finley, a 6-7 junior, added 12 rebounds and two second-half dunks to his total and scored in double figures every game of the Invitational (39 points). James Simmons finished with 15 points, including 13 in the first quarter, while Justin Hodge added 11 points, as First Coast gained as much as an 18-point first-half lead.
Ponte Vedra (4-6) cut the deficit to single figures late in the fourth quarter. Seniors Ben Houser (15 points) and Reese Russi (12 points) led the Sharks.
Ribault 49, Orange Park 41
Ribault rallied from a 14-point third-quarter deficit Saturday afternoon to capture seventh place in the Fortegra High School 9:12 Invitational with a 49-41 victory over Orange Park at Episcopal.
From a 37-37 tie with 4:21 remaining in the game, Ribault (5-4) scored eight consecutive points to take control. The Trojans were led by sophomore guard Nyron Waters with 17 points, his third consecutive game in double figures in the Invitational (total of 45 points in three games) and Martranius Mack, who finished with 10 points in the win.
Orange Park (3-6) was led by senior John Abate, who scored an Invitational single game-high 22 points (53 points in three games).
FRIDAY
First Coast 79, Ribault 53
Senior guard Ronnie Blakely scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the first half as First Coast beat Northside rival Ribault 79-53 Friday afternoon at Episcopal High School in the first game of the second day of the Fortegra High School 9:12 Invitational.
First Coast (4-3) pushed its lead to 30 points late in the third quarter, spurred on by two reserves – the 6-1 Blakely and 6-7 Kevin Finley (11 points) – as the Buccaneers had five players in double figures including Tyree Saunders with 11, Damien Deloney with 11 and Jaelin Leroy with 10 points.
Ribault (4-4) was led by sophomore guard Nyron Waters with 18 points (four 3-pointers) and Rashad Wesley with 11 points as the Trojans suffered their fourth consecutive loss.
Ponte Vedra 51, Orange Park 45
Senior Ben Houser made consecutive 3-pointers in the third quarter to give Ponte Vedra some working room Friday afternoon en route to the Sharks’ 51-45 victory over Orange Park in the second game of the second day of the Fortegra High School 9:12 Invitational.
Houser, a 6-3 swingman, finished with 12 points (three 3-pointers) to support Luke Martin’s team-high 14 points for Ponte Vedra (4-5), which broke a four-game losing streak. The win propelled Sharks coach Bud Beech’s career coaching record to 531-384 in 35 years of coaching in St. Johns County (Nease and Ponte Vedra).
Orange Park (3-5) was led by senior John Abate, who had a game-high 18 points.
Providence 62, Bolles 24
Providence, the top-ranked boys team in the Duval Sports Fab Five poll, overpowered Bolles 62-24 Friday night in the semifinals of the Fortegra High School 9:12 Invitational semifinals at Episcopal High School.
The Stallions scored all of its 10 first-quarter points in the lane, while Bolles had a hard time getting inside against 6-foot-6 Ahren Freeman (18 points, nine rebounds) and 6-10 James Repass (11 points, five rebounds). The duo led Providence (7-1) to a 62 percent shooting night while Bolles (8-1) made only 16 percent of its field-goal tries.
When Bolles tried to protect the lane in the second quarter, Providence rained down four 3-pointers – led by Norman Haynes (14 points) – to gain a 33-14 halftime lead. With a rowdy Bolles student section still cheering on the Bulldogs and prodding Providence, the Stallions kicked in another gear in the second half, scoring 16 consecutive points in one stretch and pushing the lead to 38 points.
Bishop Kenny 37, Episcopal 25
Bishop Kenny (5-1) made three-3 pointers late in the first half Friday night to take a big lead and went on to a 37-25 victory over host Episcopal (4-3) in the semifinals of the Fortegra High School 9:12 Invitational.
Patrick Larmoyeux, who scored a team high 10 points, started the run that pushed the Crusaders lead from 16-12 to 26-15 at the half.
Episcopal had difficulty scoring inside because of the presence of Bishop Kenny 6-8 senior center Noah Semple, who had nine points and 16 rebounds. Junior Max McQuiddy led the Eagles with 10 points, including nine in the first half.
Bishop Kenny continues to lead Episcopal 21-12 with 3:56 left in the 2nd quarter @DuvalSports @highschool912 @AirstreamV pic.twitter.com/4HsPLbargq
— Makeda Lawton (@adekam1976) December 15, 2018
The score is currently 11-8 Bishop Kenny leads Episcopal with a little under a minute left in the first quarter @DuvalSports @AirstreamV pic.twitter.com/C9PZhns5Bl
— Makeda Lawton (@adekam1976) December 15, 2018
THURSDAY
Providence 70, First Coast 44
Senior Ahren Freeman, a 6-6 University of New Orleans signee, scored a game high 21 points as Providence pulled away in the second half for a 70-44 win in the first game of the Fortegra High School 9:12 Invitational.
The Stallions (6-1) led 34-23 at the half, but Freeman led a third quarter surge with seven points, including a drive and dunk near the end of the quarter, as Providence expanded its lead to 20 plus points in the game.
Bishop Kenny 42, Orange Park 38
Bishop Kenny rallied from a 21-5 first half deficit en route to a 42-38 victory over Orange Park in the second day of the tourney.
Orange Park (3-4) came out in a mixture of full-court and half-court pressure to grab a commanding first half lead. John Abate, who scored a game high 21 points including eight first half points, helped the Raiders establish a 23-13 first half leaf.
Bishop Kenny (4-1) picked up its own pressure defense in the third quarter and took its first lead at 28-26 on a Jack Peeler layup with 3:35 left in the third quarter.
Orange Park had possession trailing 36-35 with 1:30 remaining in the game but turned the ball over. Patrick Buckley hit a 3-pointer and Patrick Larmoyeux (13 points) made two free throws down the stretch to clinch the game.
Episcopal 51, Ponte Vedra 47
Junior forward Max McQuidy scored 20 points, including an alley-oop slam dunk late in the third quarter, as host Episcopal held off Ponte Vedra 51-47 Thursday night in the third game of the tourney.
Episcopal (4-2) rolled to a 29-15 halftime lead, led by McQuiddy’s 13 points. Ponte Vedra (3-5) was led by Reese Russi with 20 points, including scoring 11 of the Sharks 15 first-half points.
The Sharks charged back in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to three with 20 second left before missing a 3-pointer from the corner. Ponte Vedra cut the lead to two points from there but Episcopal made three of four free throws to close out the game.
Bolles 67, Ribault 60
Bolles remained unbeaten Thursday night with a 67-60 victory in the final game of the first day of the Fortegra High School 9:12 Invitational.
The Bulldogs were led by Will Sheppard (14 points), Richie Rosenblum (13 points) and Dave Crouch (12 points), as they finished with three guys in double figures.
Ribault (4-3), which started an all sophomore lineup, was led by 6-2 forward Chris Johnson with 18 points, Martranius Mack with 14 points and Nyron Waters with 10 points.
The Bulldogs led by as much as 18 before Ribault pulled within six with one minute remaining.
This story contains multiple information from Ward Clayton from Clayton Communications and photos from the Fortegra High School 9:12 Invitational from various outlets including schools.
