Newberry Boys Basketball Advances to Second Round
Newberry boy’s basketball defeated visiting South Walton 63-39 on Saturday in the Class 3A-Region 1 Quarterfinals.
The two seed Panthers (20-3), on a five-game winning streak and ranked No. 12 in Florida, will host the region semifinal against three seed Episcopal School of Jacksonville (22-7) at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Newberry thrived offensively in the first and third quarters of the game against seven seed South Walton (15-13). It knocked down 16 points in the first quarter and 21 in the third to build a 46-22 advantage.
Senior guard Henry Mathias stuck out as the top scorer (18 points) for the Panthers, coach Patrick Green said. Mathias is Newberry’s top scorer by averaging 17 points per game this season. He also leads the team in free- throw percentage per game (87%) and points this season (375).
The Panthers outscored the Seahawks by 24 points, but work still needs to be done heading into the next game, Green said.
“We turned the ball over a little bit more than I would have liked to turn it over,” Green said.
South Walton’s top scorer, senior guard Austin Hostetler, was stopped by Newberry’s solid defense. Senior guards Quantez Robinson and Kaleb Woods put up a strong front to limit Hostetler.
Green had one goal for his defenders: “Make sure that he [Hosteltler] never gets comfortable and gets a chance to get going.”
Newberry senior shooting guard Juwan Skippio, who is coming off an injury, was recently named the FACA 3A Player of the Year and district MVP.
“Juwan has been one of our best players, most consistent players, offensively as well as defensively,” Green said.
Skippio leads the Panthers in steals (2.2) and rebounds per game (5.5). Green believes Skippio’s performance in the Kingdom of the Sun tournament over the winter holiday break set him apart and contributed to the honors. Newberry finished third out of 16 teams in that Ocala tournament.
“The plan is always to get better,” Green said about advancing to the second round.
2026 FHSAA Boys Basketball State Championship Tournament Class 3A
Category: Basketball, High School Sports, Newberry High School
