MONTVERDE, Fla. — The quaint gymnasium nearly had its roof blown off. The sheer noise after Kasey Hill drilled a 15-footer in the fourth quarter Saturday night was the coronation for No. 19 Montverde Academy.
Yes, the Eagles flew past Orlando Christian Prep, 49-40, to win the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament, and Hill was spectacular.
OCP drew within six points midway through the fourth quarter but Hill sliced through the defense for a fingertip roll layup and threaded the needle for an easy basket to distance Montverde from the Warriors.
The Florida-bound junior nearby Clermont helped dictate the pace and set the tone. A pair of breakaway slam dunks allowed Montverde to successfully defend the title and beat OCP in the final in consecutive years.
“Coach Boyle told us to be patient on offense and solid on defense and we’ll win. We did just that tonight,” Hill said.
Last year Montverde took the final, 51-48.
No surprise Hill was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, contributing 14 points and six assists. Michael Frazier, who netted 16 points and drained four 3-pointers in the opening quarter, bagged the Most Valuable Player award.
OCP’s Jordan Montgomery scored 13 points and Isaac Cohen added 10.
The Eagles took a 37-28 lead into the final period. With 5:32 Dre Clayton of OCP hit a short jumper pulling within six points, 32-26, but Montverde patient offense and sticky man defense took over.
“It was our best defensive effort of the season,” Montverde coach Kevin Boyle said. “Our student body was our sixth man and helped sustain us throughout the game.”
Montverde appeared on the verge of blowing out their local rivals but back to back 3-pointers reduced a 10-point deficit to 24-20 with 1:23 left in the second quarter. The Eagles settled for a 28-22 lead at the break as Landry Nnoko’s dunk beat the buzzer.
Anthony Perez, who is from Venezuela, gave Montverde a 15-10 lead after one quarter when he dropped in an alley-oop inbounds pass with a one minute left. OCP led briefly, 10-9, but Frazier drained a long 3 from the top of the key.
In the third-place game, Mount Vernon (N.Y.) rallied from a 10-point in the second half an 82-72 win over Roman Catholic (Philadelphia).
Junior guard Joshua Doughty was the ringleader, helping the comeback with 23 points, including six 3-pointers. Senior Jarrel Marshall added 15.
Super sophomore Shep Garner scored 21 points for the Roman Catholic.
Mount Vernon, the defending New York State Federation Class AA champions, took its largest lead early in the final quarter, 59-54, when William Robinson hit a short jumper.
After Roman Catholic took a one-point, Joshua Doughty nailed another 3-pointer and Randy Stevens hit two free throws for a 66-60 lead with three minutes left.
Roman opened a double-digit in the lead in third but the Knights kept pecking away and carried a 55-54 edge into the fourth quarter when junior guard Joshua Doughty banked in two 3-pointers, including one at the buzzer.
Shiloh (Snellville, Ga.) took the consolation bracket (fifth place) and Monsignor Pace (Opa Locka, Fla.) went 1-2 to finish in seventh. Leesburg (Fla.) went 0-3 for eighth.
In the semifinals, the host school knocked off Roman Catholic, 78-61, on Friday. Roman hung around for the first quarter, trailing 20-16 but managed only six points in the second as Montverde turned up the pressure forcing a several turnovers.
Frazier, who’s headed to Florida, topped Montverde with 15 points. Hill had 11 points and senior forward Anthony Perez had 14 and sophomore D’Angelo Russell added 10 to close out a balanced scoring attack.
Orlando Christian Prep took out Mount Vernon, 69-37, in the other semifinal. OCP jumped to an 18-2 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Reggie Oliver and Jonathan Joseph each scored 13 points for the winners.
In the consolation bracket, Shiloh beat Leesburg, 61-55. The Georgia school took the lead for good with 6:14 left in the game when 7-0 center Tayvon Green slammed home a pass from Kyle Lewis. On Leesburg’s next possession, Lewis forced a turnover and scored a quick basket.
Leesburg was missing a key component, D’Mauri Jones, who was at the University of Miami. Jones will sign a national letter-of-intent on Feb. 1 to play football for the Hurricanes.
Imhotep (Philadelphia) beat Monsignor Pace, 55-49, as Khyree Wooten scored 19 points.
All tournament team:
Robert Carter, Shiloh; Malik Price-Martin, Monsignor Pace; Isaiah Cousins, Mount Vernon; Dre Clayton and Jordan Montgomery of Orlando Christian Prep; Shep Garner, Roman Catholic; Patricio Garino and Landry Nnoko of Montverde Academy.
Most Outstanding Player
Kasey Hill of Montverde
Most Valuable Player
Michael Frazier of Montverde.
