Boys basketball district wrap: Jackson, Providence, Impact, Paxon among winners

Chalk up another win for Providence in the private-school series with Episcopal.

Caleb McAbee led an early 3-point bombardment, Chris Arias delivered clutch baskets late and the Stallions slammed the brakes on a second-half Episcopal rally for a 57-46 victory in the Florida High School Athletic Association District 3-3A boys basketball final.

"I felt like we were good down the stretch and good from the free-throw line, all of those little ingredients," Providence coach Jim Martin said.

Providence outscored the Eagles (22-4) by a 17-8 margin in the second quarter to build a 13-point halftime advantage, and had to hold on after the break to survive a 3-point avalanche from Episcopal's Kent Jackson. The Jacksonville University signee launched over and over from distance, hitting from NBA range and beyond.

But it wasn't enough against Providence, which sank free throws flawlessly in the final quarter.

A state semifinalist last winter, the Stallions (21-5) enter Thursday's regionals on a 12-game winning streak and could encounter Episcopal for a third time in the late stages of the Region 1-3A tournament. Providence also won their matchup 54-36 in December at the High School 9:12 Fortegra Invitational.

"We knew they would play well tonight, and we had to match that intensity," Martin said.

The FHSAA is scheduled to release boys basketball playoff brackets at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, following the girls release at 2 p.m.

DISTRICT 1-7A

Creekside repeated its district championship, winning 79-69 against Tocoi Creek (18-9) in an all-St. Johns County showdown.

The Knights (18-9), who needed a victory to secure their playoff future because of their standing in the FHSAA's playoff formula, will tip off the regionals on Thursday.

DISTRICT 3-6A

A state runner-up last year, Ponte Vedra took the next step toward a Lakeland return with a 79-73 victory over Oakleaf (19-6) in the Shark Tank.

Junior guard David Sanchez Barrera scored 20 points for Ponte Vedra (20-7), leading five Sharks in double figures alongside Sam Ritchie (19), Tyler Cowan (15), Maddox Palmer (12) and Trace Westercamp (10). The Sharks, who open regionals Thursday, scored 26 third-quarter points to break open a game that was tied at the half.

For Oakleaf, Aaron Rivers scored 27 points with seven rebounds, while Joe Dorvilus added 18 and Jelani Wright 14.

DISTRICT 2-5A

Tallahassee Rickards (21-6) shut down Columbia's offense for the first half and rolled to a 49-33 win.

Columbia (15-12) managed only nine points in the opening two quarters.

DISTRICT 3-5A

Riverside left no doubt in its rivalry against White (10-13), striking quickly in a 72-39 romp.

The Generals (17-8) return to the playoffs beginning Thursday.

DISTRICT 4-5A

Sophomore Nathan Kirk scored 18 points and senior Narayan Thomas added 16 for Daytona Beach Mainland (19-6), which seized the lead on a 3-pointer in the final minute and edged St. Augustine 43-39.

St. Augustine (14-11) led 12-4 after the first quarter and still remained in front entering the final period, but converted only 4 of 9 free throws. Somourian Wingo led the Jackets with 13 points.

DISTRICT 3-4A

Make it three out of four for the red and white side of this Northside rivalry.

Jackson (22-3) broke open a tight game in the final minutes, overcoming a 33-point night from Ribault senior guard Caleb Williams and pulling away from the visiting Trojans for a 54-45 victory on Main Street.

Ribault (20-7), which is also playoff-bound as an FHSAA at-large selection, had beaten Jackson 48-45 on Dec. 12 before the Tigers turned the tables in the Northwest Christmas Tournament semifinal and in the Gateway Conference semifinal. The teams could meet for a fifth time later this month in the regional playoffs.

The teams have combined to qualify for five consecutive FHSAA final fours, Jackson in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 and Ribault last year.

DISTRICT 4-4A

Paxon clawed back from a second-half deficit to hit the 20-win mark, winning 69-61 in overtime against visiting Bolles (11-11).

In a back-and-forth fourth quarter, Paxon rallied from a six-point hole with four minutes left to seize a late lead, only for Bulldogs junior Kaden Ferguson to sink three late free throws to force overtime. But Paxon held Bolles scoreless in the extra session, and guard Dameon Jones iced the win from the foul line.

The Golden Eagles (20-3), semifinalists in last month's Gateway Conference tournament, advance to a Thursday night regional playoff.

DISTRICT 5-4A

Top seed Palatka had no trouble with North Marion (12-13), rolling to a 72-54 victory. The Panthers (23-4) enter Thursday's regionals on a five-game winning run.

DISTRICT 2-2A

North Florida Educational continued to outperform its 9-12 won-lost record, beating Eagle's View 65-55 to clinch a district title.

Eagle's View (19-8) remains in the hunt for an FHSAA at-large berth.

DISTRICT 3-2A

Taylor Thompson showed there's more than one Taylor in the sports spotlight for Super Bowl weekend.

The Impact Christian senior guard, Jacksonville's newest member of boys basketball's 1,000-point club, sank 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to turn back a second-half University Christian rally and secure a 61-54 Lions win.

"Those past playoff runs taught me to stay in the moment and stay calm in a storm like this," said Thompson, who played as a freshman when Impact reached the final four in 2021.

Impact had seized an early lead through outside shooting in a physical, stop-and-start contest, before UC (15-11) erased a 13-point third-quarter deficit and tied the score on a Justin Gist 3-pointer from the corner.

But with the score at 47-46 in the fourth quarter, Thompson nailed his outside shots a minute apart, and UC — hampered by the loss of Gist and Adalbert Allotey, both fouled out — never again drew closer than four points.

"Our guys did a good job for the most part of battling and making sure that we keep them off the offensive glass," Impact coach Ben Jones said.

Thompson led with 13 points and sophomore guard Ronald Clark added 11 for Impact (15-10), which entered No. 1 in the FHSAA rankings for Region 1-2A. For UC, Gist scored 12 points and B.J. Boykin provided 11.

DISTRICT 5-1A

Hilliard cruised into the Region 3-1A playoffs, winning 66-40 against visiting Madison County (10-13).

The Red Flashes (22-2) now own a 15-game winning streak entering their first-round game Thursday.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville high school boys basketball district tournament results