High school basketball playoffs: A dozen area teams advance to 2nd round

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With the first round of the boys basketball state playoffs in the books, a dozen teams are still alive and chasing a state championship.

Most area teams avoided upsets, although there were a few.

Seventh-seeded Ribault pulled away late from No. 2 Orange Park for a 65-59 win over the Raiders in Region 1-5A.

Providence, the top seed in Region 1-3A, fended off No. 8 seed Episcopal, 34-33, to dodge an upset attempt by the Eagles. The Stallions will next face Bishop Snyder in an all-local regional semifinal on Tuesday. The Cardinals beat Trinity Catholic, 54-46.

Super 6 No. 1 Jackson, a state championship contender, avoided the upset bug in the opening round by fending off eighth-seeded Marianna, 63-60 in Region 1-4A.

Fletcher had perhaps the top win of the night, outlasting No. 2 seed Gulf Breeze in double overtime on a putback with no time left by Lajae Jones for a 60-58 win. Jones had 31 points in the win and sent the Senators on to a second-round game at Fleming Island next Tuesday.

Regional quarterfinals

Thursday’s results

Region 1-7A

(5) Oak Ridge 80, (4) Sandalwood 38

Region 1-6A

(1) Ponte Vedra 68, (8) Booker T. Washington 35

(4) Crestview 39, (5) Nease 37 (OT)

(7) Fletcher 60, (2) Gulf Breeze 58 (2 OT)

(3) Fleming Island 53, (6) Tallahassee Lincoln 47

Region 1-5A

(1) Riverside 69, (8) Choctawhatchee 34

(7) Ribault 65, (2) Orange Park 59

Region 1-4A

(1) Jackson 63, (8) Marianna 60

(2) Paxon 56, (7) North Marion 26

Region 1-3A

(1) Providence 34, (8) Episcopal 33

(5) Bishop Snyder 48, (4) Ocala Trinity Catholic 46

Region 1-2A

(1) North Florida Educational 65, (8) University Christian 39

(3) St. Joseph 45, (6) Impact Christian 44

Regional semifinals

Region 3-1A

(1) Bradford 59, (4) Bell 30

Regional semifinals

Tuesday, Feb. 22

Region 1-6A

(4) Crestview (20-8) at (1) Ponte Vedra (24-3)

(7) Fletcher (19-10) at (3) Fleming Island (15-13)

Region 1-5A

(5) Tallahassee Godby (22-5) at (1) Riverside (23-4)

(7) Ribault (16-9) at (3) Pensacola Pine Forest (21-6)

Region 1-4A

(4) Santa Fe (15-7) at (1) Jackson (26-2)

(3) Bay (23-6) at (2) Paxon (25-3)

Region 1-3A

(5) Bishop Snyder (14-12) at (1) Providence (24-4)

Region 1-2A

(5) Quincy Munroe (18-4) at (1) North Florida Educational (22-7)

(3) St. Joseph (20-7) at (2) Crossroad Academy (14-4)

Regional finals

Region 3-1A

(2) Madison County (16-11) at (1) Bradford (13-10)