Boys basketball second round: Bishop Kenny, Ribault, Providence among winners

Caleb Williams took a quick glance at the clock in the corner of the Austin-Wilkes Gymnasium as time drained late in the third quarter. He took a dribble, then another, rocking his defender from side to side before snatching the ball back and hoisting a three-pointer.

He drained the shot as a swarm of fans sporting light blue and white erupted, celebrating Ribault’s hot third quarter that slammed the door on Bay’s chance to advance to the Florida High School Athletic Association Region 1-4A boys basketball final.

Williams, or “Showtime” as he’s known on the Northside, scored a team-high 17 as the Trojans defeated the Tornadoes 69-50 in front of their home fans.

“I ain’t going to lie, when they said, ‘last shot’, I knew I was going to do it,” Williams said after the win on his shot. “I practiced all day, in the warmups, pregame. It just went in. I was glad.”

He took a nasty tumble in the fourth where he landed on his head and had to leave the game to be examined, but the Trojans withstood the advances from Bay and pulled away as Williams returned later in the quarter to help finish off the visitors.

The Trojans filled up the stat sheet with 14 from Kevin Stokes, 13 from Kalvin Gilbert, 12 from Renard Surrency and nine from George Woods in addition to Williams’ hot night.

Bay’s Deondrian Washington poured in 24 points for the Tornadoes (20-8), but it wasn’t enough as the Trojans seemed to answer each of his makes with one of their own.

Now, Ribault (24-4) sets its attention on Bishop Kenny, who defeated Paxon to advance to Friday's regional final.

“We’ve got to continue to preach, stay locked in, come to school focused every day and have all the good things going to you,” head coach Charles Showers said after the game on what his message to the team would be as they prepare for their next game.

For Bishop Kenny against Paxon, guard Diego Dionisio wasn't ready to end his high school career on the wrong end of a season sweep.

"As a senior," Dionisio said, "you just didn't want to leave with any regrets."

Playing with a more aggressive mindset and holding off a late comeback, Bishop Kenny turned the tables on Paxon, 51-44, in Tuesday night's Region 1-4A boys basketball semifinal.

A pair of late baskets from center Oluwaji Eziemefe and clinching free throws from Dionisio and Barrett Baker fueled Bishop Kenny (21-8), which had lost earlier this season to Paxon by margins of 13 and 18.

"Their defense is unbelievable, so we had to have more of an attacking mentality," Bishop Kenny coach Jerry Buckley said. "If you're passive, you're never going to score. The past two games, we've been held under 40 points against them. So we had to come out with a little more aggression."

The backcourt quickness of Dionisio and Justin Gist helped the Crusaders build a nine-point lead midway through the third quarter, only for Paxon (21-5) to surge at the end of the period and seize the lead on a Jacob Delos Santos 3-pointer.

But Eziemefe nudged the Crusaders back in front at the 4:02 mark, and he followed with an old-fashioned 3-point play off Alex Ritter's assist for a 46-42 edge. Free throws and defense late kept the playoffs rolling on for Bishop Kenny, who had eliminated rival Bolles one week earlier.

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REGION 1-6A

The tag team of Sam Ritchie (17 points) and Ben Ritchie (15 points) powered Ponte Vedra back to the regional final.

Supported by a season-high 10 assists from senior point guard Nathan Bunkosky, the Sharks used a second-quarter surge on the way to a 51-32 victory against visiting Gulf Breeze (23-4). State runner-up last year, Ponte Vedra (21-6) is one game from a return trip to the RP Funding Center in Lakeland if they overcome Gainesville Friday.

Oakleaf took a 19-game unbeaten streak to the Purple Palace Tuesday night only to have it snapped by Gainesville, who earned a come-from-behind 47-42 win in the Region 1-6A semifinals.

Coach Mike Barnes’ Hurricanes (23-6) hung in a physical back-and-forth game by holding Oakleaf (24-2) to its third-lowest point total of the season and first loss in regulation.

Appalachian State signee Josh Hayes’ putback with 2:05 left sparked a 6-0 run that helped the ‘Canes take their first lead of the half, and he swatted what could have been a game-tying Oakleaf layup with 15 seconds left.

Gainesville guard Theo Stephens led all scorers with 20 points and was the only ‘Cane in double figures, and fellow senior Jordan Bodie added nine points off the bench and helped spark the winning fourth-quarter charge with a couple of big shots.

REGION 1-5A

Columbia ramped up a trapping, pressing defense that caused turnovers, rushed shots and out-of-sync flow, which combined into a decisive surge and an eventual 69-55 victory over Pensacola Washington (18-7).

The Tigers (20-9), who reached the state final four in 2020, used a 16-2 run to finish the third quarter with a commanding lead and advance to Friday’s region championship game at Daytona Beach Mainland.

“We knew coming in that [Washington] didn’t handle pressure real well, but I thought they did a good job in the first half,” said Columbia coach Steve Faulkner. “We turned up the heat a little more in the second half and when went on that run it kinda put them on their heels.”

Columbia senior guard Isaac Broxey had a game-high 20 points, converting all eight free throw attempts, and Ty’jahn White had 17. For Washington, Nicholas Hughes led with 13 points and junior Jordyn Buchanan had 10 points.

Riverside's season ended in a grinding 32-29 loss at Daytona Beach Mainland (23-5). The Generals (15-12) narrowed the gap in the fourth quarter but came up short. Angelo Mack (8 points) and Narayan Thomas (7 points) led the host Buccaneers.

REGION 1-3A

Top-seeded Providence cruised into the regional final, winning 67-27 against visiting Oviedo Master's Academy (22-7). The Stallions (27-2), who won their second straight game by a 40-plus margin, play at home Friday against Florida High.

REGION 1-2A

Top seed NFEI survived an extra period for a 94-85 win at Quincy Crossroad Academy, advancing to a second straight regional final.

The Scorpions (8-11) forced overtime against the Eagles (21-8) after guard Forrest Dudley hit a free throw to tie the game at 81 at the end of regulation. But Crossroad ran out of gas in overtime, with NFEI outscoring the hosts 13-4. Kris Parker led the Scorpions with 19 points and forward Logan Godfrey followed with 18.

NFEI advances to a Friday game at Impact Christian, which completed the season sweep with a 50-33 win over St. Joseph (21-7). Taylor Thompson scored 20 points and Jordan Mikell added 11 as Impact (20-8) got its third double-digit win of the year over the Flashes, pulling away with four 3-pointers in the second quarter. For St. Joseph, seniors Mason Sword and Sam Wolff scored nine points each.

The Gainesville Sun, Pensacola News-Journal and Tallahassee Democrat contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school boys basketball 2023: Jacksonville second-round playoff winners