Newberry Falls Short Of District Title In OT Thriller, Heads To Regionals

By Adam Edelin, Hannah Getman, Brooke Park

The top seed Newberry Panthers lost in overtime to the two seed Hawthorne Hornets, 76-74, in the 1A-District 6 championship game Saturday.

Playoff atmosphere was in full throttle at Fort White High School. An electric crowd watched their teams battle in a physical game that saw both teams enter the double bonus by the second quarter. Both teams received technical fouls.

Tonight the No. 1 seed Newberry Panthers play No. 2 seed Hawthorne Hornets in the 1A District 6 Championship. #NewberryPanthers #NewberryHighSchool #HawthorneHornets #HighSchoolBasketball #DistrictChampionship pic.twitter.com/3zP0DRbH5k

— Brooke Park (@BrookePark66788) February 11, 2024

All Gas, No Breaks

Although the first half was low scoring, both teams played fast and aggressive. The Panthers (15-8) and Hornets (16-4) seemed to have similar game plans: less dribbling, more passing and hard drives to the basket. 

Newberry seemed to have the upper edge early in this style of play, winning down low and forcing fouls. 

Confidence seemed high for the Panthers and coach Patrick Green by the end of the first. With less than a minute left, point guard Henry Mathias dribbled at the top of the key, waiting for his offense to get set. Green was heard by the whole gymnasium, yelling at his point guard to shoot the ball.

Green’s confidence in his player was proven valid, as Mathias pulled up from four feet behind the line to hit a 3-point shot that put Newberry up 16-5 at the end of the first quarter.

Tensions Boiling Over

The physical gameplay bumped up a notch early into the second, leading to a scuffle that earned both teams technical fouls and stopped play for over 5 minutes.

With six minutes to play in the second quarter, Hawthorne hit a fast break and when a Hornets player went up for the layup, Kingston Brannon came jumping from behind and collided hard with the player in the air.

The teams pushed and shoved briefly, before being separated by the referees. Hawthorne fans and family screamed in disapproval. Both head coaches talked at midcourt for a few minutes, settled the dispute and resumed play.

All anger that remained for both teams was exerted on the court for the rest of the game, backed by the energy and loudness of their fans.

Hawthorne ran a full court press immediately after the incident, generating a few steals and several fouls on Newberry.

Hornets guard CJ Ingram, son of former UF football player Cornelius Ingram, showed how Hawthorne was going to turn its anger into points. Ingram intercepted a pass at the top of the key and broke down the court. With a defender in front of him, Ingram bounced a behind-the-back pass to his teammate, who immediately threw a perfect lob for an alley-oop slam by Ingram.

Hawthorne’s crowd erupted to an ear piercing level.

Newberry led at the half, 36-21, but the energy had shifted to Hawthorne’s side, and the Panthers were in foul trouble.

Fouls, Fouls And More Fouls

With both teams in the double bonus, it became a game of fouls the whole second half. It seemed the refs were calling everything, trying to prevent another scuffle.

Newberry’s physical play cost it big time, committing over 10 fouls in the second half. Three starters for the Panthers fouled out during the half, forcing reserves to play heavy minutes.

Hawthorne took advantage of key players sitting on the bench, and clawed its way back into the game. With a couple key shots from the Hornets’ Leland Johnson and a pair of clutch free throws from Ingram with seconds left in regulation, Hawthorne completed a 15-point comeback and sent the game to overtime at 63-63.

Hawthorne Takeover

Within the first minute of overtime, Johnson hit two 3-pointers, putting the Hornets up by four. 

Although three minutes still remained, Newberry lost its chance by committing several fouls on Ingram, who hit five foul shots through the rest of overtime to seal the comeback victory for Hawthorne.

Up Next

Hawthorne received the top seed in the regional that begins with the semifinals at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Hornets host four seed Fort White (16-6). Newberry received the three seed and will play at two seed Hilliard (22-2).

Postgame interview with Newberry High School head coach Patrick Green.#NewberryHighSchool#HawthorneHighSchool#HighSchoolBasketball#DistrictChampionship#ESPNGainesville pic.twitter.com/1vLXoWFeM3

— Brooke Park (@BrookePark66788) February 11, 2024

2024 Boys Basketball State Tournament 1A