The Gainesville Hurricanes came into Friday night’s District 2-5A championship game against the Leon (Tallahassee) Lions with a decided height advantage.
And the White brothers made sure Gainesville would use that to their advantage.
Junior Cordarius White and his brother, senior Cornelius White, combined for 36 points and the top-seeded Hurricanes held off a late Leon rally for a 63-55 win in the district title game at the Purple Palace.
Gainesville (20-7) will host at least a 5A regional quarterfinal game next Wednesday. The FHSAA will release the matchups on Saturday afternoon.
Leon’s only lead of the game was 5-2 in the opening quarter. Gainesville then went on a 13-2 run, led by seven points from Cordarius White, and led 15-7 after the opening period.
“He (Cordarius) is huge,” said Gainesville interim coach Pat Penny, who was filling in for head coach Mike Barnes, who was away for a family emergency. “He knows where to get the pass. Inside he tries to pound it in, and he did his thing.”
The Hurricanes extended the lead to as many as 14 points in the second period before Leon closed the gap to 32-25. But Cordarius was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 0.5 seconds in the quarter.
Leon’s bench was called for a technical foul, and Cordarius White nailed five straight free throws as the Hurricanes extended their lead to 37-25 at the halftime break.
Senior David Osho scored eight of his 10 points in the second quarter. He was the third Hurricanes player in double figures on the evening.
It was more of the same in the third quarter. Gainesville extended the lead to as many as 17 points.
But Leon (18-7) started chipping away, led by seniors Aaron Pensel and Alphonso Gammons. The Lions cut the deficit to 12 points at 50-38 at the end of the third quarter.
That momentum kept going in the fourth quarter. Leon outscored Gainesville 17-8 in the first six minutes of the final period, finally drawing with three points at 58-55 with two minutes left.
But Osho had a big basket and the White brothers combined for five free throws down the stretch to keep Leon at bay. Leon’s bench was also called for a technical foul and Gainesville hit three more free throws in the final seconds to clinch the win.
“We play in sync just a little bit,” Cordarius said of himself and his brother Cornelius,” I know where he likes to get the ball, and he knows where I like to get the ball. That’s what makes us a good combination.”
FHSAA Boys Basketball district scores and matchups
(teams in the Mainstreet coverage area in bold)
Rural Class-District 5 at higher seed
Quarterfinals – Monday, Feb. 3
4 Lafayette (Mayo) 68, 5 Hamilton County (Jasper) 36
Semifinals – Wednesday, Feb. 5
1 Hilliard 76, 4 Lafayette (Mayo) 34
2 Madison County 48, 3 Branford 42
Rural Class-District 6 at Bell
Quarterfinals – Monday, Feb. 3
4 Bell 44, 5 Dixie County (Cross City) 36
Semifinals – Wednesday, Feb. 5
2 Trenton 46, 3 Union County (Lake Butler) 43
1 Fort White 65, 4 Bell 27
Championship – Friday, Feb. 7
1 Fort White 45, 2 Trenton 44
Rural Class-District 7 at higher seed
Quarterfinals – Monday, Feb. 3
4 Chiefland 74, 5 Bronson 39
3 Wildwood 94, 6 Cedar Key 29
Semifinals – Wednesday, Feb. 5
1 Hawthorne 68, 4 Chiefland 52
2 Williston 72, 3 Wildwood 44
Championship – Friday, Feb. 7
2 Williston 55, 1 Hawthorne 50
Class 1A-District 4 at Meadowbrook Academy (Ocala)
Quarterfinals – Monday, Feb. 3
4 Redeemer Christian (Ocala) 55, 5 Countryside Christian 51
Class 2A-District 2 at higher seed
Quarterfinals – Monday, Feb. 3
4 St. Francis Catholic Academy 59, 5 Oak Hall 56
Semifinals – Wednesday, Feb. 5
1 P.K. Yonge 66, 4 St. Francis Catholic Academy 48
2 St. Joseph Academy (St. Augustine) 55, 3 Trinity Catholic (Ocala) 50
Championship – Friday, Feb. 7
1 P.K. Yonge 90,2 St. Joseph 81 (OT)
Class 3A-District 2 at higher seed
Quarterfinals – Monday, Feb. 3
4 Suwannee (Live Oak) 2, 5 Taylor County (Perry) 0 (forfeit)
Semifinals – Wednesday, Feb. 5
1 Florida High (Tallahassee) 67, 4 Suwannee (Live Oak) 26
Class 3A-District 3 at higher seed
Quarterfinals – Monday, Feb. 3
4 Interlachen 61, 5 Baldwin 47
3 Palatka 69, 6 Keystone Heights 60
Semifinals – Wednesday, Feb. 5
1 Newberry 81, 4 Interlachen 31
2 Bradford (Starke) 52, 3 Palatka 30
Championship – Friday, Feb. 7
1 Newberry 75, 2 Bradford 38
Class 4A-District 5 at higher seed
Quarterfinals – Monday, Feb. 3
4 Eastside 52, 5 Dunnellon 48
6 Crystal River 54, 3 Lake Weir (Ocala) 53
Semifinals – Wednesday, Feb. 5
1 North Marion (Citra) 55, 4 Eastside 42
2 Santa Fe (Alachua) 57, 6 Crystal River 50
Championship – Friday, Feb. 7
2 Santa Fe (Alachua) 45, 1 North Marion (Citra) 44
Class 5A-District 2 at higher seed
Quarterfinals – Monday, Feb. 3
4 Lincoln (Tallahassee) 60, 5 Chiles (Tallahassee) 46
Semifinals – Wednesday, Feb. 5
1 Gainesville 63, 4 Lincoln (Tallahassee) 55
2 Leon (Tallahassee) 61, 3 Columbia (Lake City) 48
Championship – Friday, Feb. 7
1 Gainesville 63,2 Leon (Tallahassee) 55
Class 6A-District 3 at Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) – Semifinals & Championship
Semifinals – Wednesday, Feb. 5
2 Forest (Ocala) 55, 3 Buchholz 53
