No. 3 Montverde (Fla.) Academy boys take Manhattan, bagging Dick’s Sporting Goods High School National Tournament title

NEW YORK – Montverde (Fla.) Academy is back on top of the schoolboy basketball planet.

Frankly, anything else would have been a huge disappointment for top-ranked Eagles, who built a double-digit lead in the second quarter, and held off Oak Hill Academy, 71-62, to capture their second consecutive Dick’s Sporting Goods High School National Tournament championship game Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

The No. 3 Eagles have won two HSNT titles and will undoubtedly be the favorites for a three-peat in 2015. If so, they would equal powerhouse Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) for the most titles in the event that completed its sixth year.

Montverde (28-0) is not assured of No. 1 in Blue Star Media Go-To 25 rankings when they are released on Monday. The Eagles were credited a forfeit victory from a game they lost in January to Curie (Chicago). No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) won a state title and went 35-0.

Let the debate begin.

“We finally got some separation with in the last four or five minutes of the second quarter; don’t kid yourself I knew Oak Hill wouldn’t go down without a fight. That’s too good a program and Steve Smith is a great coach,” Montverde coach Kevin Boyle said.

Junior forward Ben Simmons was named Most Valuable Player after three solid games, including Saturday’s 24-point, 12-rebound, five-assist performance. Simmons had help with Justin Bibbs (all-tournament team) adding 17 points and Ohio State-bound D’Angelo Russell throwing in 16 point and hauling down 12 boards.

“D’Angelo’s leadership and management skills will benefit Ohio State next year,” Boyle remarked.

No. 7 Oak Hill (41-4) had four players in double-figures: Caleb Martin (13 points), Virginia-signee B.J. Stith (11), junior Terrence Phillips (team-high 15) and Cody Martin (14). The Warriors were limited to 22 of 63 shooting (34.9 percent).

“We went out swinging,” Oak Hill coach Steve Smith, who has eight national titles and more than 900 victories in 29 years. “We were more aggressive in the second half and still had a chance to win the game at the end.”

The Warriors did not go down without a fight. Less than two minutes into the fourth, they reduced the deficit to 59-48 when Caleb Martin intercepted a pass and jammed home two points.

Caleb Martin (14 points, 10 rebounds, an all-tournament selection) knocked down a 3-pointer with 3:15 left, pulling the Warriors within eight points—the closest they were since the first half—at 61-53. But in critical situations the Warriors’ free throw shooting touch abandoned them, going 1 for 5 and missing three interior shots in the final three minutes.

“Our free throw shooting did help us today,” Smith lamented afterwards.

Oak Hill, a powerhouse program from rural Mouth of Wilson, Va., had no answers in the third as the Eagles used a 11-3 spurt in the initial 3½ minutes for a 53-28 advantage.

That 25-point bulge was the largest deficit of the season for the Warriors.

Late in the second quarter, the Eagles showed a glimpse of their A-game. On back-to-back possession, an active defense deflected passes, which resulted in Simmons slamming home two dunks for a 37-23 lead with 1:11 left.

Russell, who tossed in 13 points in the opening 16 minutes, fired a dagger into the Oak Hill defense, burying a 3-pointer with 28 second left for a 17-point halftime cushion at 42-25. Russell’s running-mate, Simmons had 14 points in the half.

Simmons, a 6-foot-8 Australian baseline player who will sign with LSU, torched his defenders.

“I used my quickness and footwork to get in position for points near the basket,” Simmons said.

Part of Oak Hill’s problem occurred at the offensive end, where they made on 8 of 23 shots (34.8 percent) and the inability to take care of the basketball (13 turnovers). Phillips had seven points to top the Warriors and the Martin twins (Cody and Caleb)—instrumental in the first two rounds—were limited to six points combined.

“Montverde has high-end players and are tough to keep off the glass,” said Smith, whose team was out-rebounded, 43-40.

The Eagles plotted their course for the national championship in the first quarter. Simmons scored eight points, mainly from in the lane, rallying Montverde from an early 8-4 deficit for a 17-12 lead after one.

It was sloppy play at times as both teams turned the ball over seven times. The lead changed four times.

“It was a case of the nerves in the early going that led to the sloppy play,” Boyle said.

Semifinals, Middle Village, Queens, N.Y.

NEW YORK – Oak Hill Academy was “cooked” and coach Steve Smith knew it.

“We were done if we didn’t come out to play in the second half,” he said Thursday afternoon. “I challenged the team at halftime because I knew our season would be done.”

Employing a smothering fullcourt press and riding the hot hand of senior Cody Martin who scored 19 his game-high 22 points after halftime, the Warriors knocked out Findlay Prep, 64-56, in the semifinals of the Dick’s Sporting Goods High School National Tournament at Christ the King High School’s Father John Savage Memorial Gymnasium.

Findlay of Henderson, Nev., finishes 31-6, missing the tournament final for the second straight year after winning it three of the first four years.

Trailing by 14 points, 34-20, with 6:30 left in the third, the Warriors made their move, going on a 10-2 tear, reducing it to 36-30 midway through the period.

Oak Hill’s vaunted “41 Press,” or intense pressure buoyed the comeback by doubling the player with the ball. The diamond-and-one was simply brilliant, changing the course of the game.

“I thought they [Findlay] were shaky and fatigued in the third quarter. We needed to win four four-minutes games in the second half. And, we won all four segments,” Smith said.

Findlay’s Renathan Ona Embo responded drilling a 3-pointer as the shot expired at 39-34 at 1:33. Oak Hill’s fullcourt press rattled the Pilots in the finals of the quarter and the fourth turnover resulted in a Cody Martin putback off a missed shot with one second left and Oak Hill’s first lead, 40-39, since the opening minutes.

“I didn’t think we’d catch them by the end of the third, but did,” Smith said.

With 4:08 remaining, muscleman forward Rokas Gustys was whistled for an intentional foul when he floored Oubre with a forearm. Oubre evened the game at 51 but Cody Martin gave OHA the lead back, 51-49, with a steak and thunderous dunk that blew the roof off the gym.

“That gave me confidence,” said Cody Martin, who like his twin is headed to North Carolina State.

Oak Hill forced the Pilots into 16 turnovers in the second half and Shelton Mitchell canned 13 of 14 free throws, including nine in the final 67 seconds, finish with 13 points.

Cody Martin’s second-half explosion jumped-started the defense.

“I knew my shots were not falling in the first half and I knew eventually they would come. At halftime, I thought concentrating on defense to make a difference but I just got into the flow offensively,” Cody Martin added.

Findlay led the up-tempo, physical contest throughout the opening half. Oak Hill was up, 12-10, after one period but the Pilots used a 20-8 second-quarter showing for a 10-point halftime bulge, 30-20.

The Warriors were their own worst enemy, shooting just 26.7 percent on 8-of-30 accuracy. Findlay was better (13 of 28 for 46.4 percent) as Oubre was a one-man show, scoring 19 points, hitting 8 of 10 shots, including a trio of 3-pointers.

Oubre, a Kansas recruit who was playing in his third game in three days (he played Wednesday at the McDonald’s All American Game in Chicago), tossed in 19 of his 22 points in the first half. Fatigued legs finally left his shots short in the second stanza.

Craig Victor II, an Arizona signee, closed out his prep career with 11 points. The scored was tied six times and the lead changed 12 times.

“We played our game but the program the caliber of Oak Hill was the deeper team. We got into early foul trouble and they caught us in the third quarter. I still think had a punch left for the fourth but we didn’t have enough bodies to compete,” Findlay coach Jerome Williams said.

Semifinals, Game 2

NEW YORK – D’Angelo Russell showed why he’s a McDonald’s All-American. His super-sized effort in the fourth quarter pushed Montverde (Fla.) Academy into the championship game.

Russell was clutch in the fourth quarter, draining six straight free throws in the final 35.8 seconds and had a defensive gem helping seal the Eagles’ 56-51 victory over Huntington (W.Va.) Prep in the semifinals of the Dick’s Sporting Goods High School National Tournament at Christ the King High School’s Father John Savage Memorial Gymnasium.

Montverde Academy plays Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of the Wilson, Va.) Saturday at noon in Madison Square Garden. It’s the first time either team has played at the basketball Mecca, however, both coaches have plied their craft in the building in either an all-star game or while coaching at another school.

Huntington Prep finishes 28-5, dropping its first game since December.

Although Russell was frigid from the floor (5 of 17, 29 percent) he was 7 of 9 overall from the line, scoring a game-high 17 points and made four steals. Justin Bibbs added 13 points and Ben Simmons had 12 points and eight rebounds.

Montverde needed all the help it could get down the stretch.

Huntington took a 47-44 lead on Thomas Bryant’s lay-in with 3:09 left. Simmons gave the Eagles the lead back off a slam-dunk rebound, 48-47, with 1:57 to go.

With 35.8 seconds left, Russell dropped in two free throws but Huntington countered when Montaque Gill-Caesar slithered along the baseline for a layup.

Russell nailed two free throws with 14.2 seconds left for a 54-51 lead and on the inbounds pass, he tipped the ball away from Jalen Lindsey. He added two more free throws to close out the scoring.

Lindsey topped the Irish with 14 points and Josh Perkins and JaQuan Lyles each scored eight points. The Irish committed 16 turnovers and Montverde picked up its offensive in the final 16 minutes, making 12 of 27 shots (44.4 percent).

In the third, Montverde regained its composure and two of Huntington’s big men were sent to the bench their third personal fouls. Lindsey gave the Irish a five-point edge, 31-26, with 6:27 left by draining a three from the right wing.

The 27-0 Eagles responded and broke the fourth tie of the quarter when the Ohio State-bound Russell dropped in a free throw with 3.5 seconds for a 35-34 lead.

The teams combined for only 39 points in the opening 16 minutes. Uncharacteristically Montverde scored two points in the second quarter after leading 16-10 after one.

Huntington was methodical in the second, slowing the tempo and disrupting interior passing lanes. With 2:11 left, Myles Bridges converted a traditional three-point play, knotting the contest at 18.

The Irish weren’t through. Following a turnover in the last half-minute, Huntington gained possession, held for the final, which Lindsey buried from deep in the left corner with two seconds to go and a thee-point lead heading into the intermission.

Bibbs had eight points and Simmons added six for the Eagles. Lyles and Lindsey scored five points apiece for Huntington, which hit 7 of 21 shots from the floor for 33.3 percent.

Montverde was out-rebounded, 18-15, and connected on only 7 of 24 shots (29.2 percent).

Quarterfinals

NEW YORK – JaQuan Lyle had the last word Thursday afternoon. He did so with authority.

Lyle’s 3-point shot beat the buzzer as Huntington (W.Va.) Prep, capping a crazy fourth quarter a 65-63 thrilling victory over La Lumiere School (La Porte, Ind.) in the quarterfinals of the Dick’s Sporting Goods High School National Tournament at Christ the King High School’s Father John Savage Memorial Gymnasium.

“It was an unbelievable game, we knew what was at stake,” Huntington Prep coach Rob Fulford said. “This team has come a long way from losing four games in the first semester. We’ve found our chemistry.”

In a game played on a knife’s edge, the lead changed hands four times and there were 13 ties. The final tie occurred with 62 seconds left hen La Lumiere’s junior forward Alex Olesinski swished two free throws, making it 60-all.

Huntington Prep took a 62-60 lead with 27.5 seconds left on junior forward Thomas Bryant’s slam-dunk. La Lumiere’s Jalen Coleman (16 points) canned a 3-pointer from the right wing at 12 seconds, setting up a frenetic finish.

Huntington Prep called timeout with five seconds remaining. Josh Perkin caught the inbounds pass from Lyle, who then received the back pass. Lyle (11 points) effortlessly stroked the game-winner and was mobbed by his jubilant teammates.

“It felt good once it left my hand,” said the 6-foot-5 senior high-major recruit. “It’s a wonderful feeling; I’m glad we got the win.”  

Under New York State guidelines, a 35-second shot clock seemed to favor the Irish, who thrive in an up-tempo game.

“I thought we fought hard but made a few mental mistake that we normally do not make,” La Lumiere coach Alan Huss.

Midway through the fourth, Montaque Gill-Caesar (game-high 20 points) heated up, tossing in five straight points for a 58-55 lead, but on the next possession La Lumiere’s Coleman evened it at 58 with a three.

Auburn-bound Sam Logwood came alive in the third quarter, scoring seven of his 14 points, including a three-point play with 3:45 left for a 42-39. Drew Cayce’s 3-pointer at 2:14 upped La Lumiere’s margin to six points, 47-41. But the Irish closed the period scoring the final six points leveling the game at 49 on Lindsey’s three-point play. The 6-7 Providence recruit’s twisting layup over a defender punctuated the play.

Cayce provided La Lumiere with a narrow 34-31 lead at the intermission, drilling a long 3-pointer from the baseline. The opening half had four ties and three lead changes. The Lakers crept back into the game, mostly from beyond the arc where they were 6 of 12 for 50 percent. Coleman’s 10 points, including 7-for-7 from the foul line, sparked the comeback.

Finally, the Lakers settled down in the second, tying it at 21 on Munis Tutu’s three and took their first lead, 22-21, with 4:41 left on Olesinski’s free throw.

In the opening 90 seconds, the Lakers were rattled by Huntington’s active man defense. It only got worse, at least temporarily.

After nearly three minutes, the Irish built a 10-0 on Lindsey’s conventional three-point. The Lakers received back-to-back baskets from Olesinski and Cayce (3-pointer), making it 10-5.

A late surge by the Lakers shrunk a 10-point lead to 17-15 heading into the second quarter. Coleman’s 3-pointer, which would have given them a one-point edge, rimmed out as time expired.

Bryant, a junior forward from Rochester, N.Y., added 14 points and eight rebounds and Lindsey had 11 points for the Irish. Olesinski posted a double-double, with 10 points and 11 rebounds and Cayce scored 11 points, sinking a trio of 3-pointers.

Game 2

NEW YORK – Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) blew off the rust from three weeks of inactivity and survived a late rush Thursday.

Senior Caleb Martin scored 12 of his game-high 20 points in the second half as the No. 7 Warriors defeated Northside Christian Academy (Charlotte, N.C.), 69-60, in the quarterfinals of the Dick’s Sporting Goods High School National Tournament at Christ the King High School’s Father John Savage Memorial Gymnasium.

It was a case of the old guard or the nation’s most accomplished program, held off the newcomers to the national scene. In Oak Hill’s four previous tournament appearances, the Warriors are still looking for the elusive title but on Thursday inched within two victories of high school basketball’s ultimate prize.

“This is a prestigious tournament,” Oak Hill coach Steve Smith, who has bagged eight national championships in 29 years, said. “We’ve won just about every major tournament and have been the finals of this one twice and lost in the first round twice. This is a business trip; we take it one game at a time.”

With four minutes to go, the Warriors led 56-54, but used a 7-0 run, including a pair of interior baskets from bruising senior post Rokas Gustys, for a 63-54 lead.

Gustys, a 6-9 Lithuanian Junior National Team player, finished with 12 points (on 5 of 7 shooting) and cleared 12 rebounds.

Oak Hill withstood a furious Northside Christian third-quarter rally, carrying a 50-47 lead into the final period. With the score knotted at 47, Gustys fired a long outlet to Caleb Martin, who slithered past a defender for a layup and canned the free throw for the three-point bulge.

Northside trailed as many as seven points in the third but used a 10-4 tear midway through the quarter for a 47-42 edge.

“We relaxed a little bit after that but you can’t do it against an experienced team like Oak Hill,” Northside Christian coach Byron Dinkins said. “I though we came out in the third quarter playing better, but we missed more shots than normal.”

Junior Desean Murray topped the Knights with 18 points, Charlotte-bound Keyshawn Woods had an off-shooting performance (4 of 17) but managed 15 points, and Saint Joseph’s-signee James Demery contributed seven points and 10 rebounds.

The Knight connected on only 19 of 58 shots (32.8 percent) while Oak Hill was much better making 28 of 54 shots (51.9 percent). The Warriors held a 38-32 rebounding advantage. 

Oak Hill jumped to a 19-16 lead after one quarter and settled for a 34-31 edge at the break.

The score was tied at 25 with 2:33 left in the second quarter—the fourth of the half—when senior guard Cody Martin (17 points) scored back-to-back baskets. Martin’s first field goal gave the Warriors a two-point edge and he then made an ace defensive play, steal the inbounds pass for a quick layup and 29-25 lead.

Cody Martin, who along with twin Caleb are signed with North Carolina State, tossed in a 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting in the first half.

Northside Christian (28-2) used a quick 6-3 burst to end the half in the final 2:14.  Sophomore Ray Kowalski’s 3-pointer from the right wing brought the North Carolinians back to 32-30 with 1:12 left.

Northside Christian’s Murray (10 points) and Rayjon Tucker (nine) teamed for 19 points in the first half of the game that had six lead changes. Tucker was held scoreless in the second half.

Game 3

NEW YORK – Findlay Prep will play on, while Rainier Beach of Seattle saw its undefeated season ended.

Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) opened the third quarter with a decisive 17-6 run en route to a 67-59 victory over Rainier Beach Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Dick’s Sporting Goods High School National Tournament before 1,200 boisterous fans at Christ the King High School’s Father John Savage Memorial Gymnasium.

It was a long trip for both schools situated a continent away. Findlay regularly makes the transcontinental journey in the regular season and Rainier Beach did the same in January when it traveled to the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass.

Rainier’s stay in the eight-team tournament was short but well deserved. The scored was tied three times and the lead changed eight times.

“I really enjoyed coaching this team; they had such great chemistry,” Rainier Beach coach Mike Bethea, whose program annexed an eighth overall state crown in March.

Last month, the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association granted Rainier Beach, which finished 30-1, permission to play in the Dick’s National. The Vikings, who are ranked No. 3 by USA TODAY and a regular in the national polls, won the Les Schwab Invitational in December, but were held 37 points below their season average of 96 points per game.

Findlay (31-4) saw a double-digit lead drop to two, 48-46, a minute into the fourth quarter. Rainier’s Louisville-bound Shaqquan Aaron (12 points on 5 of 19 shooting) nailed a 3-pointer to make it 54-51, but the Pilots closed the final 4:11 on a 13-8 spurt.

Craig Victor II, an Arizona recruit, flipped in a game-high 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Kansas-bound Kelly Oubre had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Rashad Vaughan collected 14 points and handed out five assists for Findlay Prep, which is seeking its fourth tournament title. The Pilots won all three when the event was named the ESPN National High School Invitational.

Findlay’s length and offensive rebounding wore down the Vikings in the third quarter. Victor’s slam off a missed shot at 4:21 boosted Findlay’s lead to 10 points, 39-29, before Rainier Beach called a timeout.

However, the Vikings refused to fold.

The Seattle school pulled within eight points, 46-38, as senior forward Dujuan Piper converted off an offensive rebound with eight seconds left. Findlay’s largest lead reached 14 points (43-29) with 3:31 left on a Kelly Oubre dunk.

No. 2 Rainier Beach, the three-time Washington Class 3A champions, failed to get untracked in the first half, trailing 26-23 at halftime. Findlay featured balanced scoring in the first 16 minutes as Victor (nine points), Oubre (six) and Vaughan (five) combined to score 20 points. The Pilots might have stretched the lead but committed 10 turnovers and made only 1-of-7 three-pointers.

For the game, the Pilots made 24 of 52 shots (46.2 percent).

Rainier Beach cut the deficit to 22-20 when Tyrone Cook (six points) sliced to the rim. Aaron’s steal and emphatic dunk with two seconds left in the opening half trimmed the gap to three points or run. Aaron led all the Beach with seven points but converted 3-of-9 shots, while the team combined for a frigid 10 of 40 for 25 percent.

It was an unattractive game in the early going. There were only two points scored in the opening three minutes before the Pilots took a 10-7 lead.

Junior point guard De’Jounte Murray scored a team-high 19 points and cleared nine rebounds. Piper had five points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard David Crisp, who verballed to Washington but will likely wind up at a prep school, was limited two points, missing all five 3-point attempts.

Game 4

NEW YORK – Montverde (Fla.) Academy showed why they are among the nation’s top-ranked high school basketball team.

And, the Eagles did it impressive fashion. That meant an agonizing for Florida’s Class 3A champions.

The Eagles featured four double-digit scorers and employed a smothering defense following an 81-63 blowout of No. 18 Sagemont (Weston, Fla.) Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Dick’s Sporting Goods High School National Tournament before 1,100 fans at Christ the King High School’s Father John Savage Memorial Gymnasium.

Montverde entered the tournament as defending champions, having completed a perfect regular season going 25-0, including one forfeit victory that erased a loss to Curie (Chicago). Though, Montverde is a member of the Florida High School Athletic Association, it does not compete for a state title and last played in mid-February. Sagemont concluded 34-1.

The Eagles flew by Sagemont in the second quarter building a 22-point lead at 3:35 when Ohio State-bound D’Angelo Russell hit two of three free throws, making it 42-20. In the opening three minutes of the quarter, Montverde went on a 14-5 run, extending a 20-15 lead after an entertaining first quarter. Mankinde London (13 points) and Russell each hit threes during the run and Montverde owned the boards.

No. 3 Montverde poured it on in the third carrying a 69-42 advantage into the fourth. That’s when coach Kevin Boyle yanked his starters. The Lions closed the gap when play became sloppy late.

Montverde’s Russell scored all 11 points in the opening half during a 50-26 barrage. Russell closed out the second, beating the buzzer with a pull-up, 15-footer despite a hand in his face. It capped sizzling shooting performance for the Eagles, who hit 21-of-38 shots (55.3 percent). Montverde couldn’t keep up the blistering shooting in the final 16 minutes, hitting on 31 of 71 shots (41.3 percent).

Australian forward Ben Simmons made all seven shots in the first half en route to 14 points. Simmons, an LSU junior recruit, totaled 25 points and 16 rebounds.

Montverde won the war on the boards, 46-26.

Sagemont junior guard Prince Ali threw in eight of his 25 point before the break and finished with 10 rebounds and four assists. Sagemont was crushed on the boards, 23-10, and committed 12 turnovers. G.G. Goloman, a 6-10 Hungarian center and headed to UCLA, concluded his prep career with five points and three rebounds.