The first round of the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) boys basketball state playoffs begins tonight.

A total of nine teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area will be in action. All games begin at 7 p.m.

Gainesville High will host Columbia (Lake City) at The Purple Palace. The game will be broadcast online (audio only) at Mainstreet Daily News beginning at 6:45 p.m. with Marty Pallman (Play-by-play) and Hank Rone (Color) calling the action.

Last Friday, GHS defeated Leon (Tallahassee), 63-55, to win the 5A-District 2 title as brothers Cordarius and Cornelius White combined for 36 points.

The Hurricanes (20-7), who are the No. 3 seed in 5A-Region 1, won both meetings this year against the Tigers (16-10), who lost at Leon, 61-48, in the district semifinals.

Senior forward/center Zavian Douglas leads Columbia in scoring at 12.2 points per game.

The winner will play either No. 2 seed Ponte Vedra or No. 7 seed Booker T. Washington (Pensacola) in Monday’s regional semifinals

Santa Fe (Alachua), which defeated North Marion (Citra), 45-44, to win the 4A-District 5 championship, earned a home game tonight.

The No. 4 seed Raiders (16-10) will host No. 5 seed Liberty (Kissimmee) (16-5), the 4A-District 7 runner-up, in a 4A-Region 2 Quarterfinal. The winner will play either top seed Eustis or No. 8 seed Bishop Moore (Orlando).

Despite the loss to Santa Fe, the Colts (17-7) are the No. 3 seed and will host No. 6 seed Rockledge.

Newberry defeated Bradford (Starke), 75-38, in Friday’s 3A-District 3 championship game to remain unbeaten.

The Panthers, who won their first district title since 2004, improved to 23-0. They are the No. 2 seed in 3A-Region 1 and will host No. 7 seed Bolles (Jacksonville), which lost to top seed Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville), 64-59, in the 3A-District 4 semifinals.

Three players averaged over nine points per game led by junior Juwan Scippio (11.9 ppg), Wofford football signee Logan McCloud (9.4) and junior Henry Matthias (9.4).

The winner will play either No. 3 seed Florida High (Tallahassee) or No. 6 Episcopal (Jacksonville), which lost to Jackson, 48-34, in the district title game.

New P.K. Yonge coach Willie Powers III won a district title in his first season last week to earn an automatic bid to the postseason.

The Blue Wave (10-16), who defeated St. Joseph (St. Augustine), 90-81, in overtime to win the 2A-District 2 title, is the No. 7 seed and will travel to No. 2 Master’s Academy (Oviedo (22-5).

The winner gets either No. 3 seed The First Academy (Orlando) or No. 6 seed Faith Christian (Orlando).

A total of four area teams are competing in the Rural classification regional semifinals, including two-time defending Class 1A state champion Williston.

The Red Devils (15-11), who defeated Hawthorne last Friday to win their third straight district title, are the No. 2 seed in Rural-Region 4 and will host No. 3 seed Wildwood (20-7), who they defeated, 72-44, in the district semifinals.

The winner will face either top seed Hawthorne or No. 4 seed Moore Haven (13-7).

Despite being the No. 1 seed, the Hornets (16-3) will travel tonight but would host Monday’s regional final for the right to go to the final four.

Last year’s 1A state runner-up Hilliard is at home tonight in Rural-Region 3. The Flashes (14-5) are hosting No. 4 seed Trenton (15-11), which lost at Fort White, 45-44, in the Rural-District 6 championship game.

The winner will play either No. 2 seed Fort White (13-9) or No. 3 seed Madison County (19-6) with a state semifinal appearance on the line.

FHSAA Boys Basketball matchups – Wednesday, Feb. 12

All games at 7 p.m. (Area teams in bold)

Class 5A-Region 1

6 Columbia (Lake City) at 3 Gainesville

Class 4A-Region 2

5 Liberty (Kissimmee) at 4 Santa Fe (Alachua)

Class 3A-Region 1

7 Bolles (Jacksonville) at 2 Newberry

Class 2A-Region 1

7 P.K. Yonge at 2 Master’s Academy (Oviedo)

Regional Semifinals

Rural Class-Region 3

4 Trenton at 1 Hilliard

3 Madison County at 2 Fort White

Rural Class-Region 4

1 Hawthorne at 4 Moore Haven

3 Wildwood at 2 Williston

Monday, Feb. 17 – Regional Semifinals & Finals (Rural)

TBD