High School Basketball: Santa Fe boys knock off Hawthorne, 59-58, plus other scores from MLK Showcase
HAWTHORNE — The sounds of squeaking basketball shoes filled Earl Gay Gymnasium on Hawthorne Middle/High School's campus on Monday afternoon as the Hornets hosted their MLK Shootout.
Bill Woods Court had six games played on its hardwood throughout the course of the day, which lasted more than eight hours with three girls' games and three boys' games on display.
The day of basketball was capped off by a big cross-county matchup between Hawthorne and Santa Fe — two programs which have made appearances in the state championship for their respective classifications in the last two seasons.
And the showdown didn't disappoint as the Raiders edged past the Hornets, 59-58. Santa Fe improved to 9-6 on the season, and Hawthorne is 5-3.
"Going in here, we knew it was going to be a dogfight," said Santa Fe head coach Glen Banks. "You can't come into Hawthorne with the crowd and the atmosphere... it's like a playoff atmosphere. So to win this one, have a close game... our best player is out... so to win this without him and to give the effort that we gave, it was real good."
Tied at 11 apiece to enter the second quarter, the Hornets would go into the locker room with a one-point advantage. Hawthorne extended its lead to three points as the two teams entered the final quarter.
Santa Fe outscored Hawthorne 16-12 in the fourth quarter, with junior Makhi Lewis leading the way with five of his 11 points coming in the final quarter.
With the Raiders' starting point guard and leading scorer, junior Dontrell Jenkins, unavailable, it was up to Lewis to act as Santa Fe's game manager on Monday night.
However, it came down to Santa Fe junior Jamiel Watson to secure the win with a trip to the free throw line with 2.3 seconds to play and the game tied at 58-58.
After Watson's first free throw bounced off the back iron, the junior sunk his second shot win the game. Watson finished with a team-leading 12 points.
"If you're faced with adversity and you fight, sometimes it comes out in your favor," Banks said. "So now every time you see that, you're going to fight... We fought today and we got a one-point win and I'm so happy."
The Hornets, who tied the game with under 10 seconds to play with a pair of made free throws from junior Jailen Ruth, were led by freshman CJ Ingram, who tallied 15 points. Ruth finished his night with 13 points for Hawthorne.
More Showcase games (boys)
Eustis def. Eastside 42-39
The Eustis Panthers improved to 5-11 on the season, while dropping the Rams to 3-11 after the Panthers successfully pulled off a buzzer-beating three from freshman Lomar Sparrow — the rookie's only points of the game.
Eustis was led by junior Naysean Rhome, with 12 points.
Meanwhile, Eastside was led by junior Ben Davis, who tallied 16 points.
P.K. Yonge def. Bell 71-42
The P.K. Yonge Blue Wave improved to 11-7.
The Blue Wave's athleticism spelled trouble for the Bulldogs (11-7), who were forced to rely heavily on the size of junior Daniel Pittman. Pittman led Bell's scoring efforts with 11 points down low.
Meanwhile, the Blue Wave had three players put up double digits, with freshman Patton Pinkins leading the way with 17 points.
Showcase games (girls)
Eustis def. Gainesville 65-55
The Eustis Panthers improved to an even 9-9 on the year, while dropping the Hurricanes to 10-5.
After going into the final quarter with a slim, four-point lead, Eustis nailed three 3-point shots to further separate from Gainesville and polish the 'Canes off down the stretch.
Eustis sophomore Alana Seward led the Panthers with 19 points, of which 12 were scored in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Gainesville was led by junior Leyah Houston, who scored a season-high 31 points to lead the Hurricanes.
St. Johns Country Day def. Buchholz 52-39
The St. Johns Country Day Spartans, of Orange Park, improved to 14-3. While back-to-back three-pointers from Buchholz junior Toni Davis and a buzzer-beating three from senior Emonie McCallum kept the Bobcats (6-10) in the game in the opening quarter, St. Johns Country Day junior Taliah Scott was the difference-maker for the Spartans down the stretch.
Scott, who is the ninth-best player in the 2023 recruiting class according to ESPN and committed to Arkansas, went on to score a team-leading 30 points for the Spartans.
Meanwhile, McCallum led the Bobcats with 13 points.
The Rock def. Hawthorne 71-47
The Rock Lady Lions picked up a winning record, improving to 10-9 on the season.
A 22-point second quarter for the Lady Lions, paced by junior Valerija Prtenjaca's eight points, helped The Rock build a 15-point lead over Hawthorne heading into halftime.
Despite Hawthorne's best efforts, the Hornets (9-3) never found a way to stop The Rock's three-point shooting. The Lady Lions finished the game with 12 three-pointers.
The Rock junior Roksana Sajdak led the way for the Lady Lions with 21 points, while the Hornets were paced by senior Saideriel Oliver with 14.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Santa Fe boys' basketball beats Hawthorne 59-58, final scores from MLK Showcase
