Gainesville Area Boys and Girls Basketball Weekend Outlook

It’s playoff basketball time in the Gainesville/Ocala area. Several schools in the area are looking to get to Lakeland. Girls basketball is in the state tournament while boys basketball is in districts.

Girls basketball recap

First, in class 1A, defending state champion Hawthorne defeated Fort Meade 66-13 Thursday night. The Hornets will move on to the regional finals against Wildwood after they took down Williston 67-19. Hawthorne will travel to Wildwood on February 16.

Congratulations to the Lady Hornets who advance to Regional Finals after their win over Ft. Meade 66-13. 🏆🐝🖤🧡 @CIngram_85 @Coachadkinsd @CoachBowie_HHS @RAWE_RECRUITS @ThePrepZone

— Hawthorne Middle/High School (@HMHSHornets) February 12, 2021

Also in class 1A, Trenton and Branford had byes for last night. Both teams will meet in the regional finals on February 16.

Next, in class 3A, P.K. Yonge’s season came to an end last night. The Blue Wave lost to Master’s Academy 59-37 in the regional quarterfinals.

Two more area teams were knocked out of the tournament in class 4A. Bradford lost to The Villages Charter 48-40 and North Marion was defeated by Crystal River.

Finally, in class 6A, Columbia’s season came to an end against Navarre. The Tigers lost 71-42. However, Buchholz beat Milton 37-21, and the Bobcats will host Navarre on February 16.

Buchholz advances, topping Milton 37-21. Sophomore Toni Davis led the way with 11 and Senior Jasmine Harkness and junior Tyra Peterson added 8. #RAWE 🌋@OcalaPreps @ThePrepZone @prephoopsfl pic.twitter.com/mhNDXNcyZY

— Reaching Athletes With Education (@RAWE_RECRUITS) February 12, 2021

Boys basketball preview

Several district championships take place Friday.

First, In class 6A, Columbia travels to Tallahassee to play Lincoln. Columbia is looking for redemption after last year’s gut-wrenching loss in double overtime to Dillard. Columbia was that close to a state semi-final appearance in Lakeland and will look to get there this year.

Next, class 4A sees two Gainesville area teams squaring off. Eastside goes to Alachua to play Santa Fe. Eastside is 20-1 on the year. However, the Rams’ only loss was at home to Santa Fe.

Elsewhere, St Joseph Academy takes on PK Yonge in class 3A

The Blue Wave are in Friday’s District Championship! 🌊#RAWE 🌋@PKYBasketball @pkyongedrs @ThePrepZone @ByJordanKroeger @JordanDavidsen @OcalaPreps @prephoopsfl @HSSportsFL @DuvalSports @ByCoreyDavis @ESPNGainesville pic.twitter.com/9kLRyNEHMb

— Reaching Athletes With Education (@RAWE_RECRUITS) February 11, 2021

Also, St. Francis hosts Redeemer Christian in class 2A.

Finally, class 1A has three matchups with teams in the area. District 6 is Bell against Trenton, district 7 is defending state champion Hawthorne at Williston and district 8 is Wildwood versus Vanguard.

Join us tonight as the @BellDawgsBBall VB take on Trenton in the 1A-6 District Title Game. Game is at Trenton 7:00 pm. @ThePrepZone pic.twitter.com/a3lKY0Exu6

— Bell High School (FL) Basketball (@BellDawgsBBall) February 12, 2021