For the second year in a row, the Newberry Panthers were arguably the best boys basketball team in Alachua County.

Newberry was 21-4, won its second consecutive district title and advanced to the 3A region finals for the first time in school history.

For those reasons, the Panthers were the only team with multiple members on the first team of the Bosshardt Realty All Area big school boys team (Class 3A-6A).

Newberry was led by two seniors, senior guard Henry Mathias and senior guard/forward Juwan Scippio.

Mathias led Newberry in scoring with 17.2 points a game, adding 2.5 rebounds per game and 1.4 steals per contest while being one of the area leaders in 3-pointers made.

“Henry Mathias is the best shooter I’ve ever coached,” Newberry coach Patrick Green said. “Ironically, he’s one of the few seniors that I didn’t put on varsity as a freshman. He made 70 3-pointers and a sophomore and was third-team All-State and made 85 threes as a senior. Henry reached 1,000 career points, becoming the second player on this team and third in school history for the boys. He’s a real student of the game and will continue to grow because of his approach to basketball.”

Scippio scored nearly 13 points a contest and led the Panthers with 5.5 rebounds per and 2.4 steals per game.

“Juwan was our second leading scorer this year while leading our team in steals and rebounds,” Green said. “He was the first player I’ve coached to reach 1,000 points and second in school history. He is known for his pretty jump shots and great finishes at the basket, but he was also our best utility player.”

Buchholz challenged Newberry for the best team in the county in the 2025-26 season. The Bobcats were 21-8 and advanced to their first region final in 18 years, where they were eliminated by Lake Howell (Winter Park) in the Region 1-6A final.

Buchholz was led by junior forward Jacob Bromirski. Bromirski led the Bobcats in scoring at 14.4 points a game and rebounding with 4.1 boards per contest, also adding 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals. Buchholz coach Elliot Harris raves about his junior leader.

“Jacob is a deadly scorer, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he takes the next step and averages 25-plus next season,” Harris said. “He’s improving every single day because he lives in the gym and is a true gym rat.”

“What makes him even more special is his unselfishness. He’s a walking bucket, but he always puts the team first. There were times I even apologized for taking him out when he had a chance to go for 40 and his response was, “It’s OK, coach, as long as we win.”

Senior guard/forward Antonio (AJ) Hall represents the Gainesville Hurricanes. Hall helped lead GHS back to the postseason with a 15-14 record, and led the Hurricanes in points, rebounds, and assists, averaging 14.8 points along with 5.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.

“AJ had a great year here at GHS, and found his groove about halfway through the season,” Gainesville coach Mike Barnes said. “He started to get downhill, attacking the basket and finishing at the rim. He stepped up his play in the second half of the season, helping us to get into the state playoffs. Towards the end of the year, AJ scored his 1000th point as a high school player. He has lots of JUCO interest and will play ball at the next level.”

The final player on the first team is junior guard Maliki Cobarris of Bradford. Cobarris helped lead the Tornadoes to an 18-6 record and an opening-round playoff win.

Cobarris led the Tornadoes in scoring, averaging nearly 17 points and 3.0 assists per contest. He also had 2.1 steals per game.

Newberry junior forward/center Colton Sembower leads off the second team. Sembower scored 9.2 points a game and added 5.1 boards.

“Colton was our third leading scorer and second in rebounds,” Green said. “He is and will continue to be a matchup problem for a lot of teams due to his versatility. I’m excited to see what senior year looks like at Newberry.”

Buchholz senior guard Lucas Bhatia was the other Bobcats stalwart this season. Bhatia scored 9.6 points a game while adding 3.7 assists to lead Buchholz in that category.

“Lucas is a four-year letterman and a three-year starter whose leadership was the backbone of our success,” Harris said. “Without him, we don’t make a run as deep as we did. Shooting an incredible 52% from three, he consistently delivered all season– but his performance in the regional finals was special. He went 4-for-4 from three in the first quarter, scoring 14 points and setting the tone early.

“His impact on this program goes far beyond one moment. I’ll miss No. 5. A great kid who showed up every day, worked hard and never complained.”

Junior guard Willie Brooks is Gainesville’s representative on the second team. Brooks was second on the Hurricanes squad with 13.1 points per game, adding 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest.

“Willie had some good games down the stretch for us,” Barnes said. “He shot the ball well this year. He also improved this season on getting to the rim and rebounding as well. He hit a game-winner against Eastside at home that gave us a big boost to turn things around for us. He is an excellent defender who plays extremely hard. I expect him to have a huge year as a senior.”

Columbia also advanced to a region final, where they were knocked out by eventual state runner-up Fleming Island (Orange Park) in the Region 1-5A final. The Tigers were led by junior guard/forward Shaheed White, who led Columbia in scoring with 12.6 per game while averaging 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.1 steals.

“Shaheed had a great junior year for us,” Columbia coach Steve Faulkner said. “He blossomed into the lead role for us, helping lead us to a Regional Final. He is primed for a big senior year.”

The final member of the second team is Eastside junior guard/forward Jaivion Williams.

The Rams were 17-9 and also advanced one game from the state semifinals, losing at eventual state runner-up Atlantic (Port Orange) in the Region 2-4A final. Williams led a balanced Eastside scoring attack with 9.1 points per game.

2025-2026 Bosshardt Realty All Area Basketball

BOYS – BIG SCHOOL (3A-6A) (1st Team) 

G/F – Juwan Scippio, Newberry (SR) 

G/F – Antonio Hall, GHS (SR) 

G – Henry Mathias, Newberry (SR) 

G – Maliki Cobarris, Bradford (JR) 

F – Jacob Bromirski, Buchholz (JR) 

BOYS – BIG SCHOOL (3A-6A) (2nd Team) 

G – Willie Brooks, GHS (JR) 

G – Lucas Bhatia, Buchholz (SR) 

G/F – Jaivion Williams, Eastside (JR) 

G/F – Shaheed White, Columbia (JR) 

F/C – Colton Sembower, Newberry (JR) 

Honorable mention

Bradford (Starke) –Keith Taylor (SR), Kemonte Nixon (SR), Steven Carter (SO)

Buchholz – Jamison McTureous (SR) 

Columbia (Lake City) – Terrance Tolbert (SR), Kadrian Wilson (JR)

Eastside – Raheem Littles (SR), Bryan Hayes (SR) 

Gainesville – Craig Thomas Jr. (SR) 

Keystone Heights – Dereon Tochterman (SR), Cooper Barry (JR) 

Newberry – Kai Washington (SR) 

Santa Fe (Alachua) – Latrell Guyden (JR), Brody Sapp (JR) 

Stats and/or coach nominations were not available for Suwannee