JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The streak is over.
Providence ended the area’s lengthy championship drought in boys basketball with a 51-43 win over Miami Country Day in front of the hometown crowd in the Class 2A title game on Saturday night at UNF. The area had seen teams from the core coverage region (Duval, Nassau, St. Johns) go 0 for 15 in boys championship games since Bolles last won a 4A crown in 2016 under head coach Anthony Candelino. Regionally, Bradford brought home the 1A title in 2022.
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This one felt good. It came in front of a home audience that was electric throughout most Providence baskets in the second half.
For longtime head coach Jim Martin, it was his fourth title in five appearances in the final, and first since 2015 when Providence topped Sagemont in a 66-57 showdown to cap a 31-1 season.
Providence pulled away in the fourth quarter, turning a tight 33-31 lead into a nine-point swing on back-to-back 3s by Ryan Gornto and a dunk by Nolan Nelson. The Spartans would pull back within striking distance, 47-41 with plenty of time left but the Stallions iced things at the line late and nailed down a title a long time in the making.
Nelson had 18 points and 13 rebounds followed by Gornto’s 14 points.
The last time the Stallions (29-3) were in the championship came in 2017. Providence, led by Scootie Bryant, one of the leading scorers in area history, hit a lull against Westminster Academy and never caught back up in a 57-43 loss. Martin had long felt that team was one of the best he’s had at Providence.
Martin said throughout this season that the current Stallions lineup, headlined by guards Luke Mayberry and Marvin Christie and bolstered by four-star addition Nelson, was his best team since that 2017 version.