Last February, Gainesville held off Oakleaf, 47-42, in a battle down to the wire in a 6A regional semifinal.
In the rematch on Thursday night at the Purple Palace, the Hurricanes once again found a way to hold off the Knights and advance to the next round.
Junior Cornelius White scored 15 points and the Hurricanes allowed Oakleaf (Orange Park) only eight fourth-quarter points as Gainesville rallied past visiting Oakleaf, 47-46, in a Region 1-6A quarterfinal.
Gainesville, the sixth seed in Region 1, advances to a Region 1 semifinal game on Tuesday at No. 2 seed Ponte Vedra. The two teams met in last season’s regional final and the Sharks won on their way to a state runner-up finish.
Thursday’s rematch between Gainesville and Oakleaf was almost a carbon copy from last year’s game.
The two teams went back-and-forth in the opening period. Five different players scored for Oakleaf, meanwhile White had eight of the ten Gainesville points.
“We knew defensively that they tend to hug a little more than help,” Gainesville coach Mike Barnes said. “We knew we would have opportunities at the rim, but we hit a lull. I give our guys credit for stopping them as well.”
Gainesville (18-11) turned things around in the second period, outscoring Oakleaf 13-5 to give the Hurricanes a 23-19 lead at the half. White had 10 first-half points to lead Gainesville.
“They (Oakleaf) are a very physical team,” Gainesville senior Anthony Leivonen said. “Their defense was there, intensity was there. You could tell they (Oakleaf) came out in the second half ready to go.”
Oakleaf (19-7) matched its first half total of 19 points, outscoring GHS 19-14 in the third quarter, to take a 38-37 lead into the final period. Junior Tyler Owens, who led the Knights with 12 points, knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Oakleaf the lead.
Gainesville picked it up on the defensive end in the fourth period. The Hurricanes only scored 10 points in the last eight minutes, but their defense didn’t allow a field goal to Oakleaf for the first five and a half minutes of the period. The Knights only scored eight points in the final frame and Leivonen hit a 3-pointer and two free throws to put the Hurricanes ahead for good.
“Earlier in the year, I don’t know if we win a game like that,” Barnes said. “At the end of the game we were able to burn clock and get fouled. The guys have grown up a lot and listened and bought in.”
Boys Basketball
Thursday, Feb. 15
1A-Region 3 Semifinals
4 Fort White 56, 1 Hawthorne 512 Hilliard 68, 3 Newberry 67 (OT)
1A-Region 4 Semifinals
1 Williston 76, 4 Pahokee 18
3 Trenton 49, 2 Chiefland 41
2A-Region 1 Quarterfinals
Munroe (Quincy) 69, 5 Oak Hall 52
3A-Region 1 Quarterfinals
Providence (Jacksonville) 69, 8 P.K. Yonge 22
5A-Region 1 Quarterfinals
2 Rickards (Tallahassee) 68, 7 Columbia (Lake City) 40
6A-Region 1 Quarterfinals
4 Buchholz 59, 5 Forest (Ocala) 48Â
6 Gainesville 47, 3 Oakleaf (Orange Park) 46Â
