On Tuesday, the Newberry boys basketball team defeated Branford, 76-55, to advance to the winners’ bracket of the Bronson Holiday Tournament.
Four players scored in double figures for the Panthers (8-1), led by freshman Juwan Scippio with 16 points. Seniors Mike Moore and Mason Smith added 14 points apiece, followed by senior Bryan Eastman with 10 points.
Newberry, which used a 23-point third quarter to help put the game away, will play Tavares in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. The Bulldogs (1-9) picked up their first win of the season with a 48-45 win against Bell (3-9).
Junior Eric Turner finished with 25 points for Branford (6-4), which will play Bell in the consolation bracket at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
In Ocala, P.K. Yonge defeated Hawthorne, 61-46, at the 48th annual Kingdom of the Sun tournament at Vanguard (Ocala).
Senior Moses Horne led the Blue Wave (4-4) with a game-high 23 points.
The Hornets were led by junior Isaac Taplis, who finished with 12 points on four 3-pointers. C.J. Ingram added 11 points for Hawthorne (1-1), which will play North Marion (Citra) (5-3) on Wednesday at 11 a.m. in the consolation bracket.
Vanguard (Ocala) (7-3), which defeated the Colts, 51-44, in game No. 7 of the day, will host P.K. Yonge in the winners’ bracket at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
The game will be broadcast online (audio only) at Mainstreet Daily News beginning at 7:20 p.m.
Gainesville lost a heartbreaker at the Holiday Hoopfest at Golden Gate (Naples).
Fort Myers hit a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds to play to edge the Hurricanes, 57-56, and send GHS to the losers’ bracket.
The loss offset a big game by Appalachian State commit Josh Hayes, who scored 14 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter.
The ‘Canes (8-4), who have the No. 1 strength of schedule among the 100 teams in Class 6A, will play First Baptist Academy (Naples) at 9 a.m. in the consolation bracket.
Buchholz lost to Cypress Creek (Orlando), 55-47, at the Jim Clark Classic at Bishop Moore (Orlando). The Bobcats, who dropped to 5-5, will play Trinity Prep (Winter Park), which lost to Boone (Orlando), 63-54, at 9 a.m. on Wednesday in the losers’ bracket.
Williston defeated George Jenkins (Lakeland), 65-51, to advance to the winners’ bracket of the Nature Coast (Brooksville) Holiday Tournament.
Boys Basketball Scores – Tuesday, Dec. 27
Cypress Creek (Orlando) 55, Buchholz 47#
Fort Myers 57, Gainesville 56%
Godby (Tallahassee) 55, Eastside 53^
Hilliard 69, Chiefland 56!
Lakeland 61, Columbia (Lake City) 58%
Newberry 76, Branford 55!
P.K. Yonge 61, Hawthorne 46*
Suwannee (Live Oak) 51, The Rock School (Gainesville) 47^
Tavares 48, Bell 45!
Williston 65, George Jenkins (Lakeland) 51$
Keystone Heights 74, Bronson 41!
*Kingdom of the Sun at Vanguard (Ocala)
^Hitchcock’s Challenge at Santa Fe (Alachua)
!Bronson Holiday Classic
$Nature Coast (Brooksville) Holiday Tournament
%Holiday Hoopfest at Golden Gate (Naples)
#Jim Clark Classic at Bishop Moore (Orlando)
