Champs Carry On and Buzzer Beaters Carry Teams Through Boys Basketball First Round

It takes guts to take the shot. It takes faith in teammates to trust them to make the play. And it takes determination to move on to the next round. For several teams in Northeast Florida, it took the final seconds of their first round contests to advance to the next round. While for others, their district championship dominance remained true in round one of the playoffs, setting up compelling rematches for round 2.

Class 7A

#4. Mandarin-57 #5 Ocoee – 85

Senior Williams Spriggs scored 26 points for the Mandarin Mustangs in their upset loss to Ocoee Thursday night. Senior Quajon Young chipped in 12 points as well. The Mustangs fell behind early in the game and never recovered, getting outscored 20-5 in the third quarter. Mandarin won back to back district championships, so their 28 point loss in the first round this year was not how they intended to finish the year. Coach George McCleod will try to retool his team with new pieces next year.

Class 6A

#1. Columbia (25-2)- One of the best team in the area cemented themselves as the top seed in region 1 when Columbia defeated Lincoln 49-45 to grab the district crown. Seniors Kenny Gaines scored 23 points to lead the Tigers. Marcus Peterson and Darrien Jones score 13 and 12 points in the game respectively. They welcomed Chiles (17-11) to Tiger land in the first round and escaped with a 74-72 win. The rematch with Lincoln in next in the 2nd round, after Lincoln defeated Milton 40-32.

#3. Fleming Island (19-8) –   Sebastian Astor has led Fleming all year averaging 15.3 ppg, he scored 17 points against Tate in the first round match-up. Aaron Brown led all players scoring 26 points against Tate. Senior leadership has led Coach Travis Chandler’s team. The Golden Eagles defeated #6 Tate 79-67 . Fleming Island will take on #2 Mainland in the second round.

Class 5A

#1. Lee (21-4)– The Generals defeated #8. Pine Forest (13-12) in the first round 67-46. Lee marched into the playoffs with a very talented squad of play makers. Deandre Devaughn (senior) averages 15.8 ppg while Alex Fudge (junior) averages 15.7 ppg. Fudge led the team and scored 20 points against Pine Forest. Head Coach Stephen Jenkins and company will host St. Augustine in the second round.

#4. St. Augustine (15-8)– Multi-sport athlete Dequan Stanley and Trevon Dirden have led St. Augustine this year. They clamped down in their first round matchup as the Jackets defeated  #5 Mosely in the first round of the playoffs 54-52 in OT. St. Augustine’s Brakhel Burch hit a buzzer beater as time expired to send the game into overtime. In overtime knotted at 47-47, St. Augustine was able to get key buckets and stops to hold off Mosely. They travel to Lee for their second round contest.

#6. Orange Park (15-10)- Orange Park fell to #3. Choctawhatchee (21-6)  48-46 in OT, in the first round of the playoffs. The Raiders tied the score going into the 4th period, out scoring Choctaw 14-7. However they couldn’t close it out in the final period.

Kadin Elmore averages 13.4 ppg this year. Josiah Sabino’s 12.8 ppg has guided the Raiders on offense this year. Head Coach Derek Kirnitsky achieved great success this year with his team, and hopes to go even further next year.

#7. Westside (14-11) – Rickards jumped out to a 20-5 lead in the first quarter and never looked back as the Raiders overwhelmed Westside 80-44 in the first round. Rickards had four top scorers in double figures including Zachary White’s 17 points. Rickards moves on to a big match-up against Choctaw!

Ahijah Thompson and Donovon Morgan both scored 10 points a piece for Westside. Westside and Coach Henry Robinson can hold their heads high by still making the playoffs thanks to a strong performance in district play. Morgan and Keshawn Porter return hoping to build off the successful season.

Class 4A

#1. Paxon (22-5)- Paxon defeated  #8. Pensacola this Thursday in the first round of the playoffs 58-50. Senior Isaiah Adams averages 23 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.8 spg, and 2.9 bpg which leads the team in all categories. Quinnton Jackson averages 8.7 ppg, and Michael Caswell averages 8.4. Playoff defense will be tough and attempt to force ball out of Adam’s hands. It’s up to other play makers to step up, if they intend to return to the Final 4. Bolles is up next.

#2. Bishop Kenny (22-4)- Jerry Buckley’s crew secured the #2 seed when they knocked off Palatka 46-42 in their district championship. Their reward… is to face them again in consecutive weeks. This time they bested the Pirates again 56-51 to advance to the second round. Ross Candelino averages 14 ppg and is one of the big time scorers for Kenny. He and others will need keep up the output to ground the Paxon Eagles in the next round.

#5. Bolles(18-8)- It took a last second buzzer beater for Bolles to upset #4. Rutherford 59-56! Big Shot Ben McGraw hit a three pointer from the left corner as the Bolles bench erupted to advance his team into the second round. Next up for Bolles.. a date with a former defeat. Paxon defeated them 63-47 in December. The Bulldogs look to get revenge over Paxon as they advance to the Regional Semifinals.

#7. Palatka(19-7)- What a ride for Coach Bryant Oxendine and his Pirates as they secured the seventh seed by shocking the district with a win over favorite Bolles. Although they couldn’t get passed Kenny, they still got great efforts from Senior Malik Beauford (18.0 ppg) and Wesley Roberts ( 16.0 ppg) . They bow out after losing to Bishop Kenny 56-51.

Class 3A

#1. Jackson (22-3)- The consensus #1 team in Northeast Florida took care of business defeating #8. Maclay (17-8) 55-40 in the first round of the playoffs. Logan West, Jackie Simmons and companymoved one step closer to Lakeland for a consecutive year. After defeating Providence 31-29 for the district title, Coach James Collins will welcome Coach Jim Martin and Providence back to the Tiger’s den in round 2!

#5. Providence (18-9)- Coach Jim Martin and his Stallions stampeded past #4. P.K Yonge (15-12) 58-41 in the first round of the playoffs. Guard Isaiah Green scored 12 points and big J.Lee Repass led all scorers with 18 points.

They look to lead their team deep into the playoffs. However they must go through a huge contest in Jackson next.

Class 2A

#1. NFEI North Florida Educational Institute (22-4) vs #8. Beaches Chapel (16-2)- <———Click HERE for the Story

#3.University Christian (12-11)– Last year, UC made it all the way to Lakeland. Thursday they made it one step closer defeating #6. St. Francis Catholic (15-12) 68-54. Florida A&M is next up, and if they wish to return they’ll need to get big performances from leading scorers Joe Carter, who scored points and Jaden Brill who scored 14 points as the Christians marched on!

#5. Impact Christian Academy (15-8)- Impact Calvin defeated #4 St. John Lutheran(17-6) will welcome the Lions to their house in the first round. Johnson leads the team with 12.7 ppg, yet the team has many talented play makers like Jordin Jackson(11.9ppg) and Timothy Grant (9.4 ppg) . Their win sets up a rematch with a familiar foe. Impact faces NFEI a team that has defeated them twice already this season. They were once both at Lakeland at the same time in the final 4 , now one of them will force the other to stay home.

Class 1A

#6- Hilliard (20-3)- The Red Flashes and Coach Myron Saunders defeated Jefferson County 77-65 to advance to the second round. secured a playoff spot for his team. Jacob Crews scored 29 points and Shemar Melton scored 25 points as Hilliard moves on. Next up is #5.Madison County (20-5) as Hilliard attempts to conquer the I-10 corridor that leads to Lakeland!