Alligator Alley

I just got off the phone with one of Grayson Allen's high school coaches and we discussed the victory against Father Lopez and how Grayson game has changed and he is working and has become not only a kids that jumps out the gym but an Elite shooter with the work that he is putting forth to close out this high school season and start the spring/summer evaluation period in front of coaches. He holds offers from -Florida, FSU, Clemson, S.C. Grayson will take visit in the fall

DAYTONA BEACH — To say Jacksonville Providence shot the lights out would be an understatement.

Yeah, the Stallions were that good Saturday night in defeating host Father Lopez 70-52 in the Region 1-3A final.

The Stallions hit 10 of 15 3-point field goals and went 25-of-37 from the field overall to earn their third Final Four berth in four years, this time against Naples Community School on Wednesday at The Lakeland Center. They won the Class 2A state title in 2010.

The Green Wave (27-3) were undersized, but it wasn't the Stallions (29-1) strong inside game that did the most damage — it was the long ball.

“We thought for us to win the one thing we couldn't have was for them to shoot the ball well,” Father Lopez coach Eddie Miller said.

Grayson Allen led the Stallions with a game-high 27 points, 15 of those coming on 3-pointers. David Sharpe added 18 points, mostly inside, and Luke Ridley chipped in 17 on the strength of five more 3-pointers.

Malik Maitland led the Green Wave with 20 points, Cameron Breehl added 13 and AJ Ford had 12.

“We kept on fighting and their shots just kept on falling,” Maitland said. “We played some good basketball. You can't say we gave up. We played 100 percent.”

The Stallions — ranked No. 1 in Class 3A by Source Hoops — never trailed and led by as many 25. They opened the game with three straight 3-pointers — one from Ridley and two from Allen — to take a 9-3 lead just 2:15 into the game.