Gainesville Boys Basketball Wins District Championship, To Host Regional

The Gainesville Hurricanes defeated the Buchholz Bobcats, 48-46, at the Bobcats’ Bud Seymour Gymnasium on Saturday to claim the 6A-District 2 tournament championship.

The Hurricanes (17-11) had looked to avenge their loss to the Bobcats (17-10) earlier this season. The Hurricanes entered the boys basketball tournament as the third seed, while the Bobcats had the first seed.

Tight Game From The Start

Both teams came out electric, showing off their offensive and defensive abilities. The Hurricanes’ top scorer, Cornelius White, accounted for 15 of the team’s 48 points.

The score was tied 21-21 at halftime.

A Nail-Biting Finish

At the start of the fourth quarter, Buchholz led 36-32. However, the Hurricanes responded by scoring eight points in a row for a two-point lead against the Bobcats.

The Bobcats bounced back, scoring six consecutive points. With just over two minutes left, the score was 44-40 in favor of Buchholz.

Gainesville’s Cordarius White then scored a 3-pointer, but Buchholz’s Nate Muchnick quickly responded with two points to put the Bobcats up 46-44.

With just over a minute left, the Hurricanes’ Anthony Leivonen scored a two-pointer to tie the game at 46-46 heading into the final minute.

Last-Minute Madness

With 4.6 seconds left on the clock, Buchholz had one final timeout. After the break, Gainesville’s Cornelius White scored the game-winning shot.

Gainesville defeats Buchholz 48-46 tonight to claim the district championship. 🏀⛹️

Here is the game-winning shot by Gainesville’s #22 Cornelius White. @ESPNGainesville #ESPNGainesville #Buchholz #Gainesville #GainesvilleHurricanes #BoysBasketball pic.twitter.com/uhmg56rkYd

— victoria riccobono (@vickyriccobono) February 11, 2024

However, madness occurred when Buchholz’s coach Elliot Harris had called a timeout during the play but the clock was not stopped. The refs added 1.3 seconds back to the clock, but this was not enough time to stop the Hurricanes.

Emotional Finish

Gainesville High players, coaching staff and supporters stormed the court after the win.

Cornelius White said it’s the first time he scored a game-winning shot.

“As soon as I picked up the ball and followed through with the shot, I knew it was going to go in,” White said.

GHS coach Mike Barnes expressed his admiration for the team:

GHS, the six seed in Region 1, will host three seed Orange Park Oakleaf (19-6) at 7 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinal. Buchholz, the four seed, will host five seed Ocala Forest (20-7) at 7 p.m. Thursday in the other quarterfinal.

2024 Boys Basketball State Tournament 6A

 

2024 Boys Basketball District Tournaments 6A District 2