Class 7A
Creekside
Creekside went 18-7 on the season and won their district championship over Flagler Palm Coast 65-36. For Creekside, it was a 3-Peat as District Champs as head coach Chris Patterson led the team to it’s best record in that three year span.
In the first round of the playoffs, #1 Creekside defeated #8 Lake Mary 75-53 in dominating fashion. Nolan Nelson led the team in scoring with 14.7ppg 3.4 apg and 11.3rpg. The 6 foot 7 Nelson is just a sophomore. Senior Derek Rivers was second on the team averaging 12.7ppg.
#1 Creekside welcomes #5 Seminole on Monday in the regional semifinals. The winner will advance to the elite 8.
Class 6A
Tocoi Creek
The Toros have ridden a 6-game winning streak into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in Northeast Florida. They defeated Matanzas in the district championship 65-58 to advance to the playoffs as the #1 seed. Led by freshman King McFadden’19 points, the Toros took down Fletcher 67-54 in the first round.
For Fletcher they finished the regular season 21-6 as Seniors Ryder Kay, DJ Rivera and Ryan Bailey all averaged 9 points per game. Their well balanced attack wasn’t good enough to match the explosiveness of Tocoi Creek.
Marc Mitchell scored 12 points and Javares Rickerson scored 15 versus Fletcher. 6 foot 6 Tyson Gilbert grabbed 15 boards and had 3 blocks. On the year McFadden averages 12.5 ppg, Rickerson 11.8ppg, Gilbert 11.7ppg, and junior guard Daniel Figueroa rounds out the double digit scorers with 10.0ppg
Tocoi hosts #5 Milton on Monday.
Class 5A
Fleming Island
#1. Fleming Island defeated #8 Lincoln 76-58 to advance to the sweet 16. The Golden Eagles are 23-5 on the season, riding an 11-game win streak into their playoff contest versus #5 Leon. Junior Nate Lowery scored 19 points while sophomore Carson Crawford scored 16 points to lead the team.
Crawford has led the team this season averaging 16.8 points per game 10 rebounds per game, and 1.5 blocks per game. At 6 foot 7 he has the size and athleticism to take over games, yet his team plays extremely good defense and well together as a unit.
Ponte Vedra
#2 Ponte Vedra downed Booker T Washington (Pensacola) 67-57 to keep their post season going. They are riding a 6-game win streak. Against Booker T, David Sanchez Barrera led all scorers with 19 points. Alex Katsikas scored 15 points, Maddox Palmer scored 15 points, and Trace Westercamp scored 12 points in their playoff game.
Katsikas and Barrera led the barrage with four 9-pointers made between them in the game. On the season, Palmer averages 13.3 ppg, while Barrera (12.3) and Westercamp (11.1) have also been key contributors all season. Helping guide the Sharks to a district championship over St. Augustine 49-30.
St. Augustine (18-8) fell to Leon 56-53 in round 1 of the playoffs. While Ponte Vedra will be moving on to face #3 Gainesville.
Class 4A
Ribault
#1 Ribault is 19-8 on the season, and though they suffered a trip up in the district championship versus rival Raines, they still secured the #1 seed in Class 4A. In the first round, the Trojans handled business against Fort Walton Beach 75-55 to advance to the Sweet 16.
The Gateway Conference Champions have shown they can beat any team at any time. Such was the case when they upset Jackson in the Gateway Conference tournament 57-51. 6 foot 2 senior Kaden Toure has led the team with 16.5ppg, as well as 6 foot 4 senior Jamian Jackson who averages 15.2 ppg.
The Trojans will face #4 Bishop Kenny at home for the chance to go to the Elite 8.
Bishop Kenny
#4 Bishop Kenny defeated #5 Bay 51-39 to advance to the Sweet 16 to face in-town foe Ribault. The 18-10 Crusaders are led by Drew Jackson who averages 11.1 ppg, Adam Enoch averages 9.9 ppg, and Jack Lyons averages 8.0 ppg. Kenny has fallen short to some of the best teams in the area including Creekside and Tocoi Creek. However, they showed that they can handle business in the most crucial times of the year. A district championship over Paxon was one crucial moment as well as in the playoffs against Bay. It’s a different season in the post-season that gives teams a chance to go 0-0. Right now Kenny is 1-0.
Raines (12-14) Won the district championship to grab an automatic bid to the playoffs. Unfortunately the #6 Vikings fell in the first round to #3 Godby 65-62. Jajuan Johnson hit a 3pt Field Goal to bring Raines closer 55-59 in the 4th quarter versus Godby. Then Terrance Walker made a 3pt Field Goal to bring Raines within one point of Godby 62- 63. Yet Mekhi Butler’s 20 points led Godby to the victory.
Paxon (13-11) fell to Rickards 49-34 in the first round of the playoffs. The Golden Eagles fell to Bishop Kenny in the district championship.
Class 3A
Jackson
#1 Jackson defeated #8 Walton 74-30 to advance to the Sweet 16. Tay’vion Lawson scored 14 points, Jayden Williams scored 12 points, while Jahari Simmons scored 13 points against Walton. On the season, Jahari Simmons leads the team averaging 15.9ppg, as well as David Wilson 12.7 ppg.
It’s been a great season for the Tigers and new head coach Byron Shemwell who went 26-2 on the season. Shemwell replaced longtime head coach James Collins this year. Jackson has defeated good teams like Tocoi Creek, Ribault Creekside, Rickards, Lake Highland Prep, Impact, UC and Fleming Island. They also fell to Fleming Island and to Ribault in the Gateway Conference Championship.
Yet this team’s body of work suggests that they are the best team in Northeast Florida. They will host #4 #4 Marianna today.
#5 Fernandina Beach (19-8) fell to #4 Marianna 72-56
#6 Episcopal (15-14) fell to #3 Florida State University 60-27
#7. Bolles fell to #2. Newberry 82-77
Class 2A
University Christian
#1 University Christian defeated #8 Maclay 89-56 in the first round of the playoffs. Henry Arthur led them with 24 points, Ty Duncan and ADALBERT ALLOTEY both scored 14 while Marvin Christie chipped in with 13 points.
On the season Duncan led the team averaging 13.7ppg. The 6 foot 10 Allotey led the team with 10.1 rpg and 3.8bpg. Christie led with 4.7 apg and 3.6 spg. The team is currently 20-8 with wins over Fleming Island, Ribault, NFEI, and Creekside. They will face a tough test in the sweet 16 when they host #4 Providence. They defeated the squad to be crowned district champions earlier in the month.
Providence
#4 Providence is 16-12 on the season after defeating Bishop Snyder 49-41 in the first round of the playoffs. Ryan Gornto and Cameron Silhan led with 11 points a piece, while 6 foot 6 Will Rydzewski added 10 points.
It’s been an up and down season for the Stallions as they have faced some of the best opponents in the city. Defeating Ponte Vedra, but falling to Jackson. Defeating Fleming Island but falling to Impact Christian. In order for Providence to get a win over a team they already fell to, they must find consistency in their play.
Class 1A
Impact Christian Academy
#1 Impact Christian Academy defeated #8 Meadowbrook Academy 77-20 in the first round of the playoffs. Impact improved to 21-6 on the season after the convincing win. 6 foot 5 junior Frandy Perez led the team with 20 points, while Sterling Moody and Ronald Clark both added 11 points in victory.
Clark averages 13.9ppg and Jeremiah Jones averages 11.7ppg to lead Impact. They’ll be asked to run head coach Benjamin Jones system who has guided them to playoffs, Final 4 and state championship game several times. If it’s February that means its playoff time, and you never know what will happen when Impact takes the court. Last year it was a buzzer beater against University Christian that sent them to the Final 4.
North Florida Educational Institute
#4 NFEI (6-13) defeated #5 St Johns Country Day 63-53 in the first round of the playoffs. The Eagles advanced to face a familiar foe in Impact. Two years ago they defeated Impact to advance to the Final 4. This year’s club has traveled a much different road. A rough start saw NFEI lose 12 of their first 15 games. Yet they managed to win 3 of their last 4 games to advance to the Sweet 16.
Eagles View
#2 Eagles View defeated #7 North Florida Christian 60-58. JUSTIS CLEMENT led with 18 points. JAYCEN LOWERY and CORI LAVOILE scored 13 points, while MARCUS CARTER scored 12 points in the win. Eagles View advances to #6 St John Paul II at home.
Rural Class Elite 8
Hilliard
#1 Hilliard will face #2 Fort White in the Sweet 16. Hilliard is 15-5 on the season and led by Ta’veon Dunbar who averages 21.4ppg. Dunbar scored 14 points in Hilliard’s 57-54 win over Trenton in round 1 of the playoffs. The Red Flashes were led by CJ Hall’s 20 points. Hall averages 20.1ppg this year.
Fort White
#2 Fort White took down #3 Madison County 46-44 in the first round of the playoffs. Fort White is led by Tafari Moe who averages 18.3ppg and Jayden Jackspn 16.6ppg. They will travel to Hilliard in the Elite 8
