Hilliard ran into a big problem in the state basketball championship game on Saturday night.
That problem was the big bodies of Williston, which dominated the paint and handed the Red Flashes a 61-53 loss in the Class 1A state title game at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland. The Red Devils shot 60% and scored all but 13 points inside the paint to win back-to-back state championships.
Recommended Videos
CJ Hall had 23 points and Malcom Warthen followed with 16 for Hilliard (25-3).
Hilliard whittled Williston’s lead to 41-39 going into the fourth but the bigger Red Devils were just too much in the paint. Williston used its muscle in the paint to dominate the Red Flashes. It scored 48 of its 61 points in that area and didn’t even bat an eye at a 1-for-9 shooting night from beyond the arc.
Three of Williston’s starters were in double figures in scoring, and the other two were just outside of that (nine points apiece).
Hilliard couldn’t slow the Red Devils down long enough to mount a serious run outside a nine-point burst in the third quarter that trimmed the deficit into a manageable one.
Loss aside, the Red Flashes had a remarkable season under coach Myron Saunders, playing for their second state championship since 2020.