The nation’s top-ranked team in the Student Sports FAB 50, Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), exercised some demons with a victory over No. 3 White Station (Memphis) in the title game of the Pass Pro Shops TOC. For Montverde Academy, the win was gratifying but there is still some unfinished business on this road trip.
The Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) basketball team has a lofty — and realistic — goal of an unbeaten season and Student Sports FAB 50 mythical national title. This weekend at the 2014 Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions, the Eagles had some bad memories and history to deal with, not to mention an extremely talented team in White Station (Memphis).
Montverde Academy was upset in overtime in last year’s TOC final against Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) after leading by 10 points with 5:40 to go in regulation. Less than 48 hours later, the Eagles lost on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) at the Hoophall Classic. Montverde bounced back to finish No. 1 in the 2013 Student Sports FAB 50, but this season the Eagles want to go wire-to-wire as No. 1 without leaving its final rankings in the hands of others.
In Saturday night’s final, not only did FAB 50 No. 1 Montverde have to face the nation’s No. 3 ranked team, it was facing a team that previously won five Bass Pro Shops TOC titles with a 21-2 overall record at the tourney. It was a tall task, but behind the play of junior forward Ben Simmons and senior guard D’Angelo Russell, the Eagles overcame the obstacles to record a 73-60 victory over White Station before 10,066 people at JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo.
Ohio St. commit Russell was named MVP of the tournament for Montverde Academy (18-0) after scoring 14 points and eight rebounds. In three tournament games, the 6-foot-5 shooting guard averaged 22 pointer per game.
The score was 32-30 in favor of Montverde at halftime. White Station took a 39-38 lead with 3:30 left in the 3rd period on a conventional 3-point play by Nych Smith, but the wheels fell off after that. With one minute remaining in the third period, Montverde took a 46-39 lead, its largest to that point, and led 49-41 entering the final period as White Station could not stop the Eagles’ transition game down the stretch.
The Eagles also dealt with Cal-bound guard Ahmaad Rorie, its sixth man for the first half of the season, leaving the team on January 15 and returning to his native Tacoma, Wash. But Montverde Academy had already dealt with Russell sitting out the first half of the season, including the City of Palms Tournament. Its bench outplayed and outscored White Station’s.
It also helps to have Simmons in the lineup. The 6-foot-9 do-it-all performer originally from the Australia dominated the game with his ability to rebound, push the ball in transition himself, and finish the play with a scoring move or nifty pass. Simmons, a Mr. Basketball USA candidate who finished in fifth place in the latest Mr. Basketball USA Tracker, finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and three steals against White Station. If the LSU commit has another standout game its Montverde’s next showcase game on Monday, he likely will help his national player of the year candidacy tremendously.
White Station (16-1) defeated defending champion Paul VI, ranked No. 10 in the FAB 50, 65-50 in its semifinal contest. Coming into this tournament, White Station had won the Bass Pro Shops five times, tied for most all-time with Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) in the tournament’s 30-year history.
Montverde routed Christ the King 83-54 in its semifinal victory and had no trouble with Village Christian (Sun Valley, Calif.), 96-46, in its tourney opener.
Paul VI did bounce back with a 75-46 win over Christ the King to take third place.
Montverde Academy Still Not Home Free
The nation’s top-ranked team has an early morning flight on Sunday to the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass., where on Monday on ESPNU it was face No. 6 Curie (Chicago) and its own Mr. Basketball USA candidate — Kansas-bound center Cliff Alexander.
Montverde Academy is great in transition, but underneath doesn’t have the brute power defensively it did last season with Devin Williams (West Virginia) and Dakari Johnson (Kentucky) so it will be interesting to see how the Eagles try to slow down Alexander. They’ll also be playing against their second top 10 nationally ranked team in less than 36 hours half way across the country.
Looking at the overall national rankings picture, No. 2 Oak Hill Academy will be 23-1 heading into Monday’s showdown with No. 7 Whitney Young (Chicago) at the Hoophall Classic.
No. 4 Rainier Beach (Seattle) won its only contest at the Hoophall Classic on Saturday, downing bubble club Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.) 65-60. Senior guard and Washington commit David Crisp led Rainier Beach with 20 points, including four 3-pointers.
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