Four-time champs: Mainland beats tough Atlantic team for fourth straight Five Star Conference title

Five players scored in double figures for the Bucs in their 76-71 victory over the Sharks.

  • By Michele Meyers
  • | 4:50 p.m. February 2, 2026
  • Ormond Beach Observer
  • Sports
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Mainland dominated the Five Star Conference boys basketball tournament, finishing with a 76-71 victory over Atlantic on Friday, Jan. 30, at the Vince Carter Athletic Center, for their fourth consecutive conference championship.

“The game was electrifying,” Mainland head coach Joe Giddens said. “Playing in the earlier games — we played Oak Ridge, won by four; we played Evans, won by two. Being in those kinds of games got us ready for this kind of game. I knew ...  when we went up 10 or 11 they were going to come back. They just played hard and kept coming back. I just told my guys to keep their composure.”

Five players scored in double digits for the Bucs, who improved to 21-2 heading into the postseason. Team captain Beegie Gordon led Mainland with 15 points, Jaheem Curry scored 14, Canyon Powers and Kadin Flores each scored 12 points and Kade Manley added 10 points. Davin Jones pulled down a team-high nine rebounds and Powers added eight more. 

Giddens said the Bucs probably would have won by double digits if his players had made more free throws — they went 24 of 37 from the line — but he said it was understandable after playing four games in five nights.

Atlantic also had five players in double figures with Emmanuel Martin scoring a game-high 17 points, Tyler Smith and Mehki Yon scoring 14 points apiece and Chris De La Pena and Caleb Wiggins each scoring 11.


“It was a great game,” Mainland's Gordon said. “We played a great Atlantic team. I looked forward to the game all season. It was a really good fight throughout the whole game, but me and my team pulled through like every other game. We just think of it as another obstacle to where we’re trying to go.”

The Bucs opened the Five Star tournament with a 78-41 win against Spruce Creek on Jan. 26. They topped Seabreeze 69-45 in the semifinals on Jan. 27. They beat Sanford Seminole 71-61 in a non-conference game on Jan. 28, and then faced Atlantic in the conference title game on Jan. 30.

Giddens wondered what more he could ask for with five players scoring in double digits and the ability to consistently have a 10-man rotation.

“They just play hard,” he said. “I’m just so happy for them. I’m building good young men and installing life lessons. When the ball stops, they’re going to continue to be young men. They’re going to be fathers. They’re going to have to push through with perseverance. That’s the kind of stuff I teach. If they can learn that, then the basketball stuff becomes easy.”

Mainland will play a District 4-6A semifinal on Feb. 4 at home against the winner of the Lyman-Winter Springs quarterfinal. The Bucs are seeded first in the district and ranked first in the region. They would host the district final on Feb. 7. 

“We’re one in our district, in our region,” Giddens said. “But, like I tell my guys, anything can happen, any night, so we’ve got to be ready. We can’t take anybody lightly. When we step across that line, it’s go time.”

Seabreeze (18-7) opens District 7-5A play at home on Tuesday, Feb. 3, against Deltona. If the Sandcrabs win, they will host a semifinal on Feb. 5.

 

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