Boys high school basketball playoffs ‘25: Ponte Vedra battles but comes up short in championship

Ponte Vedra stood up to a basketball powerhouse until the very end on Friday night.

But perennial heavyweight Blanche Ely’s burst in the third quarter was too much for the Sharks to overcome in a 44-38 loss in the Class 5A state championship game at RP Funding Center in Lakeland. The Sharks were trying to bring home the first championship for a St. Johns County team since Nease in 2002 and gave it their best.

Ponte Vedra led at halftime in a low-scoring game (16-12) before the Tigers came on with ferocity in the third quarter. Ely (20-9) flipped that deficit into a 31-26 edge going into the final quarter and kept it until the finish. The Tigers now have nine state championships, including two over teams from St. Johns County. Ely beat Creekside 77-54 in the 2018 state title game. The Tigers have won nine state championships in 12 attempts, including the final eight.

Two days after edging Leesburg in triple OT in the state semis, the Sharks went into a slowdown game in the opening half and frustrated the Tigers. Ponte Vedra closed the first quarter on an 8-0 run and took that lead into the second half. Maddox Palmer led Ponte Vedra with 20 points.