The top second round regional matchups to follow
The opening round took place last Thursday with 112 games across the state of Florida.
There will be 56 games, all coming tonight at 7 p.m. ET. (with the exception of Mount Dora Christian at Orlando Christian Prep’s Wednesday tilt)
Class 1A-4A will showcase region finals while Class 5A-9A will be in the semifinal round.
Below, I break down the top second round regional matchups.
9A
Region 3-District 9/Region 3-District 10 – Atlantic at Wellington
Undefeated at 28-0, Wellington will look to hold off Atlantic, a team that has a trio of players averaging 14 or more points per game. Juniors RJ Duhart and Kadeem Wilkes and senior Rodwens Albert have been getting it done. For Wellington, senior Bryan Williams is the top leader with senior Jon Philistin and junior Linton Brown pitching in.
8A
Region 2-District 7/Region 2-District 8 – Wharton at Winter Haven
Wharton continues to win right at the end of games to advance. Senior DJ Henderson and junior Darin Green Jr. are the top playmakers for the Wildcats. Winter Haven has a trio of seniors in Keyshawn Bryant, Dorian James and Bryson Birdsong showing up nightly to make plays. This is an intriguing matchup.
Region 3-District 11/Region 3-District 12 – Riverdale at North Port
Matchup No. 4 between Riverdale and North Port on the season comes tonight. North Port won the district title over Riverdale 58-50. The other two meetings were decided by seven total points as Riverdale won at home and North Port won in overtime at home. Senior Jacob Tracey and sophomore Jadrian Tracey are the leaders for the Raiders while North Port has seniors Brandon Graff and Ben Via at the helm.
Region 4-District 13/Region 4-District 14 – Blanche Ely at Dwyer
This is a fantastic matchup between a 20-8 Blanche Ely team and a 26-1 Dwyer group. Blanche Ely is fresh off an overtime win over Forest Hill as senior Michael Forrest dropped 44 points. Dwyer has senior forward Miles Coleman working hard.
7A
Region 1-District 1/Region 1-District 2 – Crestview at Choctaw
Here’s another meeting of division rivals in Crestview and Choctaw. The Indians won all three meetings including the district championship a few weeks ago. Choctaw has juniors Diante Smith and Joshua Williams running the show. For Crestview, juniors Marcus Purcell and Devin Voisin have been steady.
6A
Region 4-District 13/Region 4-District 14 – Rockledge at Leesburg
Perhaps the game of the week or even the game of the year is going down at Leesburg. The reigning 6A champions will have to do everything and more to hold off a Rockledge team that earned the transfer of senior USC commit Elijah Weaver prior to the season. Leesburg has senior Keon Ellis and junior Lance Erving running the show.
5A
Region 2-District 7/Region 2-District 8 – Holy Trinity at Melbourne Central Catholic
District rivals, Melbourne Central Catholic is 3-0 against Holy Trinity including the district title game a few weeks ago. However, there will be adjustments made and Holy Trinity has a ton of talent with senior guards Brandon Schwab and Preston Milo and juniors Seth Coleman, Dru Nickson. The senior oriented MCC group has Tay Cobb, Lorenzo Hardy and Pavel Antonov doing steady work.
4A
Region 1-District 1/Region 1-District 2 – Providence at P.K. Yonge
The last time P.K. Yonge hosted Providence in the playoffs was in 2011. These two teams met in the region finals a year ago as Providence cruised to a 58-44 win. This time around, both units seem to be very well matched. Providence goes through junior forward Ahren Freeman, a special talent who helps get juniors Triston Livingston, Noah Mitchell and Fable Burden highly involved. P.K. Yonge is led by sophomore Jalen Speer and senior William Banks IV.
Region 2-District 3/Region 2-District 4 – Carrollwood Day at Master’s
Carrollwood Day is looking to do the impossible, something it has continuously done all season long. With junior guards Malcolm Whitlow and Edgar Ziegler and senior center Owen Mixon putting up points, the Patriots always have a chance to win games. For Master’s, the Eagles have seniors Jose Placer, Joe French and Emanuel Hernandez shooting at a high clip. This will be a close outing.
3A
Region 1-District 1/Region 1-District 2 – St. Francis Catholic at Florida A&M
Nick Baskin will have to carry St. Francis Catholic in a tough road matchup against Florida A&M. The Baby Rattlers have impressive freshman A’drelin Robinson and senior Antoine Dawson at the forefront. This will be a fun battle.
2A
Region 3-District 5/Region 3-District 6 – Florida Prep at Central Florida Christian
These are two fierce teams with Florida Prep featuring senior guards AJ Johnson and Dejuon Small and senior big men Lahat Thioune and Samba Kane running the show. Junior forward Kmani Doughty and freshman center Moussa Diabate can make plays. For Central Florida Christian, senior guard Dante Treacy sets the tone alongside junior forwards Jordan Preaster and Anterrius Washington. This will come down to transition play.
1A
Region 4-District 7/Region 4-District 8 – Wildwood at Bell
Both teams have three players apiece who are averaging 10 or more points per game. For Wildwood, the Wildcats have seniors Darion Wilson and Shemar Rose and sophomore Marcus Niblack in that category. Bell has seniors Anthony Yoder and Terek Yiles and junior Tyler Trantham averaging double digit points nightly. These two teams met in the region semifinals a year ago as Wildwood came away with the victory 77-71.