The Sonic Drive-In Player-of-the-Game for Saturday, February 9, is Alex Dubois of the Hawthorne boys’ basketball team.
Dubois, a senior, scored a team-high 17 points, including five three-pointers, to lead four Hawthorne players in double figures as the Hornets held off a frantic comeback to beat P.K. Yonge (Gainesville), 71-65, before a standing-room only crowd at Hoskins Gymnasium on Saturday night.
The two teams went back-and-forth through much of the first quarter, but Dubois hit a couple of three pointers as visiting Hawthorne eventually pulled away to a 21-13 lead after the opening eight minutes.
The Blue Wave offense slowed to a crawl after leading scorer Byron Smith picked up his third foul with two minutes left in the opening period.
P.K. Yonge managed only three points and no field goals with Smith in on the bench in the second period. Hawthorne outscored P.K. Yonge 18-3 in the quarter and held a huge 39-16 lead going into the halftime break.
Dubois knocked down two more threes in the third period and the lead for the Hornets reached as many as 29 points as Hawthorne settled into a 54-32 advantage heading to the fourth quarter.
But then the fourth quarter happened, and suddenly P.K. Yonge made it interesting.
Israel Wilcox, Jalen Speer, and Smith all had nine points in the final period as the Blue Wave cut the deficit to four on a couple of occasions.
But Hawthorne, despite only two field goals in the final quarter, hit 11 free throws and did just enough down the stretch to hold on for the win.
Alphonso Williams joined Dubois in double figures for Hawthorne with 16 points, while Devonte Bowie chipped in with 15, including 12-for-16 from the free throw line. Mike Reed added 14 points.
Smith led P.K Yonge with 19 points, with Speer right behind with 18 and Wilcox adding 14 points. The Blue Wave outscored the Hornets 33-17 in the final quarter, outscoring their offensive output for the first three quarters combined.
Hawthorne ends their regular season at 22-1 and finishes off a season sweep of P.K. Yonge after winning the first meeting at home, 54-49, on January 25. The Hornets will host the District 6-1A tournament next week as the top seed.
P.K. Yonge finishes the regular season with a record of 21-4, and will host either Tallahassee Maclay or Oak Hall next Friday in the District 1-4A tourney.
Every game The Prep Zone will recognize a Player-of-the-Game. The recipient receives a $10 gift certificate courtesy of Sonic Drive-In of Gainesville & Ocala.
