(This story has been updated to add new information.)
Marvin Christie took flight for one dunk. Then another, a minute later, to show the state he was back.
Turns out that those dunks proved it for himself, too.
“Honestly, at the beginning, I was taking it slow, trying to get my groove back… after I got my flow on, I felt a little athletic out there and I got up there and dunked it a couple of times,” Providence’s senior guard said.
Providence’s championship chase is closing in on the trophy.
Hobbled all week by a lower leg injury, Christie swung the momentum with two dunks in two second-half minutes to turn a one-score game into a 69-53 triumph over St. Petersburg Northside Christian in the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 2A boys basketball semifinal on March 6.
The Stallions (28-3), winners of 16 consecutive games in a streak that started against Northside Christian on Dec. 30, need one more win for Jacksonville’s boys basketball state title for a decade, and the first ever for any team in the city on home hardwood.
“That feels great,” Providence coach Jim Martin said. “At UNF, they do it right. Lakeland, not so good. Jacksonville, Florida, the best. UNF, the best.”
Their chance for that victory comes against Miami Country Day at 7:30 p.m. March 7. At UNF Arena, Providence will play for a fourth FHSAA championship but its first since 2015, fewer than 10 miles from their Hodges Boulevard home.
They might not have made it there without Christie, questionable throughout the week with a lower leg injury. He suffered the injury during the Feb. 28 Region 1-2A final against Orlando First Academy, and initially, there were fears that Christie might have damaged his Achilles tendon.
He didn’t. He is thankful. Two days after the injury, he learned his Achilles was spared: “They said it wasn’t that serious, as long as I did my recovery and everything.”
“On Wednesday, he was out of the boot. On Thursday, he practiced for 30 minutes and looked pretty good,” Martin said. “He said, ‘Will I be restricted?’ and I said, ‘When the trainer clears you, there are no restrictions.'”
Still, Christie said he spent much of the first half trying to find his rhythm. Friday didn’t always feel like the 12-point, five-rebound, three-assist state semifinal that it became.
“Towards of the second quarter, I got a good bucket,” he said. “After that, I’m seeing one go in, and I’m like, ‘OK, I can get to the rim now.”
Providence led only 25-22 at the break when the Jacksonville State-committed guard began the half with a rim-rattling dunk that brought the arena to its feet. Two possessions later, he did it again. It was 31-22 then, and far from over — Northside Christian didn’t throw in the towel, trimming the margin to five after a pair of CJ Hearn threes — but Providence found firm footing on the road to the final.
“Once we get rolling, it’s hard to stop us,” said junior forward Nolan Nelson, who hasn’t lost a game since returning to Northeast Florida from Ohio’s Spire Academy at the start of January.
Nothing stopped the Stallions. Not a bout of foul trouble for Nelson, who rode the bench for eight first-half minutes after collecting his second foul — Providence lost only one point off its lead during that span. And not Northside Christian senior forward Jordan Bender, who scored 11 points in the first 10 minutes before cooling off.
Providence buried all doubt after a chippy sequence that ignited a five-point swing midway through the fourth. Bender picked up a standard foul and a technical foul, fouling out in the process, for a dead-ball shove that sent Providence’s Ryan Gornto to the floor. Gornto, a 96 percent shooter from the line, hit both shots and then drained a 3-pointer from the corner for the dagger.
The Stallions showed balance throughout. Point guard Luke Mayberry, who sparked the offense with eight first-quarter points, led the Stallions with 14. High-flying sophomore Will Stewart, who thrilled the crowd with two second-half dunks, finished with 12 points and nine boards, while Nelson added 10.
One more game. One more chance to add another banner to join 2010, 2013 and 2015 on the west side of the Intracoastal Waterway. For Providence, one night from history.
“I hope everyone in the city pops out. This is something you brag about for the rest of your life, like, ‘Yeah, I won a state championship back in 2026,'” Nelson said. “All I can do is prepare myself.”
The Times-Union’s Ryan O’Halloran contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Providence basketball seals title game trip, beats Northside Christian
Reporting by Clayton Freeman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
