BENSALEM, Pa. – The top five in the Blue Star Media Elite 25 boys’ basketball rankings remained unchanged. The remainder of the rankings feature reshuffling and there are two newcomers with strong résumés.

McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) and fresh off winning a regional tournament title sits atop at No. 1. La Lumiere School (La Porte, Ind.), which had a quiet week, is No. 2. Montverde (Fla.) Academy is third and had a successful weekend in New Jersey. No. 4 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) and No. 5 Salesian College Prep (Richmond, Calif.) round out the Top 5.

Otherwise No. 22 Ranney School (Tinton Falls, N.J.) and No. 21 Sunrise Christian (Bel Aire, Kan.) saw the biggest drops after losses and No. 18 Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.)—thanks to a miracle finish on Saturday–bumps up seven slots. Entering the Elite 25 are No. 17 Scott County (Georgetown, Ky.) and No. 25 Charlotte (N.C.) Christian.

In all, every team outside the top five moved except No. 24 Bogan (Chicago). Bogan reached the Chicago Public League quarterfinals and needs three wins to annex the city title. No. 6 Curie (Chicago) is the favorite. The locals would nothing more than to see Curie and Bogan meet in Sunday’s final. Morgan Park (Chicago), ranked in the Midwest Region, is another serious player.

Scott County entered the week as Kentucky’s top-ranked school in a single-class state. There only two weeks left in the regular season.

In North Carolina, Charlotte Christian (Steph Curry’s alma mater) is 27-1 and three wins from the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association 4A tournament title. The Knights start play in the tournament, hosting a quarterfinal game on Saturday.

As the month of February goes deeper, the GEICO High School Nationals will start taking shape. It’s fair to say that La Lumiere School, Oak Hill Academy, Montverde Academy, IMG Academy are safely in the eight-team field. Wasatch Academy and Sunrise Christian are two independents that are firmly in the mix.

Montverde made a strong statement for the No. 2 seed by wiping out two ranked teams from New Jersey last weekend at the Metro Classic in Union, N.J. The Eagles concluded the regular season and have a long layoff until the GEICO Nationals.

The public and state independent schools that need to win state tournaments include McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.), University School (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), Charlotte (N.C.) Christian, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) and Federal Way (Wash.) could nab two or three slots when the invitations are handed out. The GEICO Nationals will be played April 4 through 6 at Christ the King High School in Middle Village, N.Y.

The Elite 25 boys’ basketball rankings return on February 19. If you count the final rankings (released on April 8), there are only seven ranking periods left in the 2018-19 season.

Thank you to all our readers; we cannot do it without you. Hope to see you at a game soon. – Christopher Lawlor 

Blue Star Media Elite 25 Boys’ Basketball Rankings, February 12, 2019

1. McEachern, Powder Springs, Ga. (27-0)

Previous ranked: 1.

Low-down: Won Class AAAAAAA Region 3 tournament, defeating North Paulding (Dallas), 73-55. Also beat Hillgrove (Powder Springs), 72-51, in the semifinals. The Indians open the Class AAAAAAA state tournament entertaining East Coweta (Sharpsburg) on Friday.

2. La Lumiere School, La Porte, Ind. (26-0)

Previous: 2.

Low-down: The Lakers drubbed Indiana Elite Prep (Richmond), 63-38, in their lone game of the week. The action resumes Tuesday with Horizon Christian Academy (Fort Wayne, Ind.).

3. Montverde (Fla.) Academy (21-2)

Previous: 3.

Low-down: Coach Kevin Boyle went back to his old stomping grounds and beat New Jersey’s top two teams. The Eagles defeated then-No. 12 Ranney School (Tinton Falls), 89-51, and then-No. 21 Roselle Catholic, 65-41, at the Metro Classic in Union, N.J. The Eagles are off until the GEICO National from April 4-6 in New York.

4. IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla. (26-1)

Previous: 4.

Low-down: Idle. The regular season closes this week with two home games.

5. Salesian College Prep, Richmond, Calif. (27-0)

Previous: 5.

Low-down: Closed out the regular season, pounding Albany, 60-43. The Pride tips off the CIF-North Coast Section playoffs hosting Kennedy (Fremont) Tuesday. The quarterfinals are Friday.

6. Curie, Chicago (26-1)

Previous: 7.

Low-down: The Condors crushed it in the opening two rounds of the Chicago Public League playoffs. DaJuan Gordon’s second double-double (18 points, 13 rebounds) of the tournament fueled a 78-52 blowout of Marshall (Chicago) in the second round. Justin Harmon had 19 points and snared 7 rebounds in a 93-62 hammering of Fenger (Chicago) in the first round. Gordon has 37 points and 20 boards in the two games. Next are the quarterfinals Tuesday vs. Farragut Academy (Chicago). If all goes according to plan, the Condors would meet No. 24 Bogan (Chicago) in the semifinals Thursday. The title game is Sunday.

7. Federal Way, Wash. (20-2)

Previous: 11.

Low-down: A winter weather blast dumped plenty of snow in Western Washington. However, the Eagles played and defeated Rogers (Puyallup), 82-33, the Class 4A West Central District tournament first round. Next up is Puyallup in the WCD quarterfinals, which were postponed until Wednesday.

8. DeMatha, Hyattsville, Md. (22-3)

Previous: 6.

Low-down: Competing in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, widely considered the nation’s best league, is never easy. Last week the Stags went 2-1, losing to archrival Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), 65-58, but rebounded to beat Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), 67-64. The Stags were down in the latter game by a point in the fourth but used a 10-4 run to take a 59-54 lead with five minutes to go. Four games remain before the WCAC playoffs.

9. Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, Va. (22-3)

Previous: 13.

Low-down: Idle.

10. Sierra Canyon School, Chatsworth, Calif. (25-3)

Previous: 14.

Low-down: Opened the CIF-Southern Section Open Division playoff pool defeating Mater Dei (Santa Ana), 71-61. This week the Trailblazers meet St. John Bosco (Bellflower) Tuesday and Corona Centennial Friday.

11. Cox Mill, Concord, N.C. (21-1)

Previous: 8.

Low-down: The Chargers wrap up the regular season Thursday against The Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.) in nearby Charlotte.

12. Mountain Brook, Birmingham, Ala. (26-3)

Previous: 17.

Low-down: Defeated Vestavia Hills, 63-36, in the Class 7A Area 6 final. Also beat Hewitt-Trussville, 78-51, in the semifinals. Next is Florence in the 7A sub-regional on Tuesday.

13. Warren Central, Indianapolis (20-1)

Previous: 15.

Low-down: The Warriors crushed Decatur Central (Indianapolis), 74-33, and Southport (Indianapolis), 61-38. Four games are left in the regular season.

14. Rancho Christian, Temecula, Calif. (24-5)

Previous: 10.

Low-down: Upended by Bishop Montgomery (Torrance), 54-50 in CIF-Southern Section Open Division playoff pool play. Next is Etiwanda Tuesday and Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley) Friday.

15. Fairfax, Los Angeles (25-1)

Previous: 20.

Low-down: Defeated Narbonne (Harbor City), 79-59, in the CIF-City Section Open Division first round. Next is George Washington Prep (Los Angeles) Saturday in the semifinals. The title game is Feb. 23.

16. Moeller, Cincinnati (20-0)

Previous: 22.

Low-down: The Crusaders clinched their third straight Greater Catholic League South Division championship, stopping Elder (Cincinnati), 59-32.Sophomore Logan Duncomb and Alex Pfriem tallied 16 and 15 points, respectively. The Crusaders take a 39-game win streak into the regular season finale against St. Xavier (Cincinnati) Friday.

17. Scott County, Georgetown, Ky. (27-1)

Previous: Not ranked.

Low-down: Coach Billy Hicks’ squad is Kentucky’s top-ranked team. The Cardinals are back at it Tuesday with Holy Cross (Covington) and Paul Laurence Dunbar (Lexington) Friday. Only three games left until the 42^ndDistrict Tournament tips on Feb. 20.

18. Long Island Lutheran, Brookville, N.Y. (19-2)

Previous: 25.

Low-down: Junior Andre Curbelo scooped up a loose ball and drove 80 feet for the buzzer-beating layup during a thrilling 53-51 victory over Gill-St. Bernard’s (Gladstone, N.J.) at the Metro Classic in Union, N.J. GSB was holding for the final shot but a turnover in the final seconds led to the scoop and drive for the win.

19. Wasatch Academy, Mount Pleasant, Utah (24-3)

Previous: 23.

Low-down: Upended then-No. 16 Sunrise Christian (Bel Aire, Kan.), 65-53, at the Heartland Hoops Classic in Grand Island, Neb. It was a signature win for the Tigers. The regular season closes out next week with home games against Jordan (Sandy) and Kearns.

20. Bishop Loughlin, Brooklyn, N.Y. (20-2)

Previous: 19.

Low-down: The CHSAA Brooklyn-Queens AA regular season champions held off rival Xaverian (Brooklyn), 95-84, but lost to Iona Prep (New Rochelle), 66-62. Next up is Holy Cross (Flushing) Tuesday.

21. Sunrise Christian, Bel Aire, Kan. (19-5)

Previous: 16.

Low-down: Lost to No. 19 Wasatch Academy (Mount Pleasant, Utah), 65-53, at the Heartland Hoops Classic in Grand Island, Neb.

22. Ranney School, Tinton Falls, N.J. (20-3) 

Previous: 12.

Low-down: Lost to No. 3 Montverde (Fla.) Academy, 89-51. Florida-bound Scottie Lewis managed to score 21 points.

23. Roselle (N.J.) Catholic (20-3)

Previous: 21.

Low-down: The Lions are the top-seed in the Union County Tournament and received a bye to the quarterfinals and won’t play until Saturday. Also lost to No. 3 Montverde (Fla.) Academy, 65-41, and beat The Patrick School (Elizabeth), 48-42.

24. Bogan, Chicago (22-2)

Previous: 24.

Low-down: Rashaun Agee had quite a week with a pair of double-doubles. Agee flipped in 40 points and cleared 13 rebounds to take down North Lawndale (Chicago), 83-63, in the second round of the Chicago Public League playoffs. He also collected 13 points and 12 boards in an 86-57 victory over Dunbar (Chicago) in the first round. Next is Orr (Chicago) in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. The semifinals are Thursday and the final is Sunday.

25. Charlotte (N.C.) Christian (27-1)

Previous: Not ranked.

Low-down: The Knights open the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association 4A tournament on Saturday.

Dropped: No. 9 Belleville (Ill.) West and No. 18 Carmel Christian School (Matthews, N.C.).

High-Fives by Region

East

1. Roman Catholic, Philadelphia (18-4)

2. Elizabeth, N.J. (20-0)

3. Imhotep Charter, Philadelphia (17-5)

4. St. Raymond, Bronx, N.Y. (19-5)

5. St. Benedict’s, Newark, N.J. (22-4)

Geography: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.

Midwest

1. Nicolet, Glendale, Wis. (17-1)

2. Morgan Park, Chicago (24-3)

3. Carmel, Ind. (17-1)

4. River Rouge, Mich. (15-1)

5. Hilliard (Ohio) Bradley (19-0)

Geography: Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Southland

1. University School, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (20-4)

2. Guyer, Denton, Texas (28-4)

3. Bartlett, Tenn. (28-2)

4. Timberview, Mansfield, Texas (30-2)

5. North Crowley, Fort Worth, Texas (31-3)

Geography: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.

Far West

1. Shadow Mountain, Phoenix (22-3)

2. Corona (Calif.) Centennial (26-3)

3. Westchester, Los Angeles (22-3)

4. Gonzaga Prep, Spokane, Wash. (19-2)

5. Bishop Gorman, Las Vegas (22-4)

Geography: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

About: The Blue Star Media Elite 25 High School Boys’ Basketball Rankings are released weekly from November until the conclusion of the high school season. Criteria considered are the quality of the team and its players, strength of schedule, tradition, and quality of the team’s league, conference, region or district. The rankings are compiled by Blue Star Media’s Senior Writer Christopher Lawlor, who consults with a national network of coaches, talent evaluators and prep sports writers. The final rankings will be released in April. Follow him on Twitter at #clawlor.