The Gainesville High boys basketball team had won five games in a row with P.K. Yonge heading into Tuesday night’s meeting with the Blue Wave at the Purple Palace.
And while P.K. Yonge was playing its first game with new head coach Willie Powers III, Gainesville got off to a sizzling start in the opening quarter as the Hurricanes cruised past the Blue Wave, 64-36.
Gainesville, who beat North Marion (Citra), 63-51, in its opener last Thursday at the Purple Palace, improved to 2-0.
Senior Cornelius White led the Hurricanes with 13 points and his brother, junior Cordarius White, added 12 points.
Senior Aiden Bell came off the bench and ended up with 10 points, including back-to-back threes in the third quarter.
“He’s (Bell) kind of instant offense when he’s in there,” Gainesville coach Mike Barnes said. “He’s a real threat. He has a nice touch around the basket and he can step out and hit the three. He’s just a pleasure to have on the team.”
Gainesville jumped out quickly and never trailed against the Blue Wave. Cornelius White had five points, sophomore Willie Brooks had five, and Bell added four points as the Hurricanes knocked down three 3-pointers to take a 24-8 lead after the opening period.
“Credit to our guys, I think in the last game against North Marion we came out hot as well,” Barnes said. “The guys have really been coachable and listening the last couple of weeks and it shows.”
GHS took a 34-17 lead into the halftime break with Cornelius White scoring nine points in the opening half.
The Hurricanes came out hot again in the third quarter, going on a 22-4 run to get to a running clock at 56-21 late in the period. Cordarius White had seven points in the third quarter.
It was a tough night for P.K. Yonge graduate Willie Powers III in his first game coaching his alma mater. Barnes says there are brighter days ahead for Powers.
“It was a good win versus a city team,” Barnes said. “Willie is a good guy. We play ball together on Sundays. We coached together in travel ball before he went off to FAMU, but he got a lot of good coaching experience there. He’s going to do all the right things over there and have P.K. Yonge in a good spot.”
Before the game, a ceremony was held that included six players from the Hurricanes’ 1969 2A boys basketball state championship team as they presented Gainesville Athletic Director Phillip Knight with a refurbished championship trophy for GHS. The six included Dean Bass, George Rafferty, Juddy Carter, John Dulaney, Mitch McCallum and Darryl Tower.
The 1969 GHS team, which went 26-1, defeated Hillsborough (Tampa), 54-52, in overtime at Jacksonville Coliseum to win the school’s second of five boys basketball titles. The Hurricanes also won in 1923, 1999, 2000 and 2009.
