High school basketball: Top-ranked Duke signee Cooper Flagg finishes one block shy of triple-double in Maine return

By Jordan Divens Jan 5, 2024, 6:35pm

The 6-foot-9 wing finished with 23 points, 10 rebounds, nine blocks and five assists in a 93-51 victory for top-ranked Montverde Academy.

Top-ranked senior Duke signee Cooper Flagg finished one block shy of a triple-double Friday night in his return to his home state of Maine as National Top 10 No. 1 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) blew past MaxPreps Top 25 No. 2 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 93-51.

Flagg posted 23 points, 10 rebounds, nine blocks and five assists in his homecoming, while his brother Ace Flagg received his first start of the season and posted six points and four rebounds in the victory.

The last time the top-ranked Class of 2024 prospect stepped onto the floor for a high school basketball game in the Pine Tree State was in the state title game of his freshman season. He posted 22 points and 16 rebounds in a 43-27 victory for Nokomis (Newport, Maine) over Falmouth on March 5, 2022.

Montverde Academy saw a balanced effort on the offensive end of the wire-to-wire victory as four-star Baylor signee Robert Wright III finished with 15 points and nine assists, five-star Georgia signee Asa Newell contributed 11 points and nine rebounds, while five-star senior Derik Queen and five-star Indiana signee Liam McNeeley chipped in 10 points apiece.

Cooper Flagg made his presence felt from the opening tip-off as McNeeley assisted Flagg for the opening basket of the game just seconds into the contest after Queen won the tip-off.
Cooper Flagg returns to his home state of Maine for the first time since a state title game victory in the final game of his freshman season in March of 2022. (Photo: Eugene Alonzo)
Cooper Flagg returns to his home state of Maine for the first time since a state title game victory in the final game of his freshman season in March of 2022. (Photo: Eugene Alonzo)
Flagg threw down numerous highlight-reel dunks and forcefully turned back a handful of chase-down blocks that ignited the sold-out crowd of approximately 6,500 people at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.



After his impressive performance Friday night, Flagg upped his season averages to 16.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.5 blocks per contest.

Montverde Academy (15-0) returns to the court tomorrow for a contest against CATS Academy (Boston, Mass.) at the Portland Expo Center approximately one mile across town.

Gonzaga (11-2) will look to rebound from back-to-back losses against Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) on Monday, Jan. 8.