No. 2 McEachern battles back to capture Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions title

Despite trailing for the first 26 minutes of Saturday night's final at the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions in Springfield, Mo., No. 2 McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) emerged as the champion – and kept its record perfect on the season.

The Indians (18-0) battled back for a 50-46 win over No. 15 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) in overtime though they didn't lead until the 5:55 mark in the fourth quarter.

Junior point guard Sharife Cooper came up huge down the stretch for McEachern. The 6-foot-1 Top 25 prospect hit a game-tying three with 1:06 remaining in regulation. For an encore, he hit the game-winning three with 25 seconds remaining in overtime from nearly an identical position in the right corner.

Cooper was just 7 of 21 from the field but the MaxPreps National Player of the Year contender came up big when it mattered most, finishing with a team-high 20 points after knocking down a pair of late free throws to secure the win. He averaged 26.3 points per game during three games in Springfield, taking home tournament MVP honors and once again proving he is one of the most clutch players in high school basketball.

McEachern trailed by as many as 11 points and played without Northwestern pledge Jared Jones for a long stretch in the first half due to foul trouble.

In addition to the win over Sunrise Christian, the Indians notched a victory over No. 12 Shadow Mountain (Phoenix) in their semifinal contest. They also captured the City of Palms Classic last month in Florida.

McEachern is set to travel to the Spalding Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass., to face No. 18 Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.) on Monday in another massive showdown.

Despite the overtime loss, Sunrise Christian Academy (14-3) picked up a pair of quality wins over No. 23 Rainier Beach (Seattle) and Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.) while showing it can play with any team in the nation.

N'Faly Dante , a 6-11 junior regarded as a Top 10 prospect, had a monster performance in the championship game loss, finishing with 21 points (9 of 12 from the field), 11 rebounds and three blocks.