Florida Prep earned a trip to the Class 2A state semifinal round on Friday with a 45-40 boys basketball win over Central Florida Christian in Melbourne.
Visual Russell of Central Florida Christian Academy is guarded by AJ Johnson of Florida Prep during Friday’s Class 2A regional final.
A 17-1 run to start the second half turned things around for the Falcons, who had trailed at halftime of their regional final game, 23-16.
Florida Prep will play Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Lakeland against North Florida Educational of Jacksonville, the first state tournament appearance for the Falcons since 2013.
Melbourne and Melbourne Central Catholic both fell on the road on Friday.
Melbourne’s boys had their own second-half run in Tampa to draw within three points of Sickles in 8A, but the Bulldogs could not win a return trip to the final four. It would have been their third in four years.
In 5A, MCC led at The Villages Academy, but the home team scored the final 10 points of the game for a 68-63 win.
Friday’s results
Class 8A boys regional final: Tampa Sickles 55, Melbourne 49
5A boys regional final: Villages Charter 68, Melbourne CC 63
2A boys regional final: Florida Prep 45, Central Florida Christian 40
High school sports | floridatoday.com/sports/high-school-sports/