by Beth Jones
The Pirates hosted the Flashes on Monday night. The Fernandina Beach High School basketball teams were at home with Hilliard.
The Fernandina Beach High School basketball teams hosted Hilliard Monday night. Photos by Penny Glackin/Special to Nassau NewsLine
The FBHS girls team dropped to 5-12 with a 70-35 loss to Hilliard, and in the boys varsity showdown, the Pirates (8-14) lost to the Flashes 57-22 in the regular season finale.
It was the third county matchup in a row for FBHS. West Nassau defeated the girls 30-29 on Jan. 21, and Yulee won the Jan. 23 matchup 34-27. The boys beat visiting West Nassau 57-44 on Jan. 20 and edged host Yulee 56-54 on Jan. 23.
In the boys game against West Nassau, FBHS senior Dylan Merkitch led the Pirates on the scoreboard with 19 points. He also had a rebound, four assists and three steals.
Senior Kendrick Raysor and junior Ethan Watts chipped in 10 points apiece. Raysor also had eight rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block. Watts had a double-double, pulling down 12 boards. He also had a pair of steals and a block.
Senior Reid Webber had six rebounds, two steals and a block. Senior Brady Steffen had four assists and a pair of steals.
In the Yulee matchup, Hornet sophomore Ben Newby led all scorers with 28 points. Teammate Micah Bazill, a junior, chipped in 11 points. Senior Carter Kirchner had six rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.
The Pirates had four players in double-digits, with Merkitch leading the way with 15, Webber scoring 11, and Keeton Tomasko and Carter Patterson with 10 points each. Webber and Watts had seven rebounds apiece, Raysor had five assists, and Steffen had a trio of steals.
The Hornets (11-12) travel to Baldwin today, Jan. 28, for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Indians in Yulee’s regular season finale.
The FBHS girls travel to Atlantic Coast Thursday, Jan. 29, to end the regular season.
The district tournament brackets will be announced Friday.
The junior varsity boys county championship game will be played Saturday, Jan. 31. Yulee hosts FBHS at 4:30 p.m.
bjones@nassaunewsline.net
