Photo from Amelia Island Sports Photography
We have reached the finale of the boys basketball season with district tournaments beginning this week Feb 6-10 at various sites around the area.
The top two teams from each district move on to the playoffs so its all about survive and advance now.
Can Providence, Creekside, Ribault, Parker or anybody else make it to Lakeland and bring home an elusive state title?
The Road to Lakeland starts this week with winning the district tournament and clinching home court.
Here is a run down of area district tournaments and a preview of each district.
District 3-5A
Seeding
1. Jackson (4-1)
2. Bolles (3-2)
3. Raines (3-2)
4. Fernandina Beach (3-2)
5. Episcopal (2-3)
6. West Nassau (0-5)
District Tournament at Fernandina Beach (Feb 6-10)
Monday: No. 3 Raines vs No. 6 West Nassau, 6
Monday: No. 4 Fernandina Beach vs No. 5 Episcopal, 7:30
Wednesday: No. 2 Bolles vs Raines/West Nassau winner, 6
Wednesday: No. 1 Jackson vs Fernandina/Episcopal winnr, 7:30
Friday: Championship game, 7
Top Players
Bolles: Dave Crouch (16.4 p.p.g.), Pat Heinhold (11.7 p.p.g.), Sam Middlekauf (10.5 p.p.g.)
Episcopal: Marcus Brooks (13.6 p.p.g), Jack Hammer (11.6 p.p.g.), Chanthony Boyd (6.0 r.p.g.)
Fernandina Beach: Anthony Vendola (13.2 p.p.g.), Joey Harris (10.6 p.p.g.)
Jackson: Keshawn Curry (Sr., G), Duane Bradley (Sr., F), Juwan Knight (Sr., PG)
Raines: Trevon Laidler (11.6 p.p.g.), Darius McCorker (10.7 p.p.g.), Joshua Battle (9.3 p.p.g.), Myjai Sanders (9.0 p.p.g., 7.5 r.p.g.)
West Nassau: Shemar Melton (10.2 p.p.g.), Cameron Atwater (8.2 p.p.g.), Terrance Singleton (8.1 p.p.g.)
Outlook
How crazy is it that host Fernandina Beach (21-4) is the four seed here. Bolles (11-13), which won a state title last season, was 9-4 at one point and has lost 9 of its last 11 games. Jackson (15-9) is probably the most athletic team and the heavy favorite. Raines (16-9) is one of the hottest teams in the city and might be playing the best ball out of anyone, having won 11 out of their last 14 games.
Prediction
Champion: Raines
Runner-up: Jackson
