Xcellent 25 high school boys basketball rankings

NCAA bylaw 13.11.1.8 is about the only thing that has slowed down top-ranked St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) over the past two years.

The Friars – winners of 46 games in a row – were scheduled to participate in the SNY Invitational over the weekend at Long Island University in Brooklyn. But the controversial new NCAA rule, which has thrown high school events off college campuses all over the country this season, forced a last-minute cancellation of the event.

Bylaw 13.11.1.8 states, "An institution...shall not host, sponsor or conduct a nonscholastic basketball practice or competition in which men's basketball prospective student-athletes...participate on its campus or at an off-campus facility regularly used by the institution for practice and/or competition by and of the institution's sports programs."

Events in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and several other states were canceled or relocated earlier this season in response, making the gaffe by event organizers and LIU officials a bit of a head-scratcher.



No SNY Invitational meant empty weekends for the Friars along with Cardozo (Bayside, N.Y.), Jefferson (Brooklyn) and St. Raymond Boys (Bronx). St. Anthony and St. Raymond attempted to schedule each other on Saturday, but that contest ultimately fell through.

The Friars remain No. 1 in this week's Xcellent 25 presented by the Army National Guard. Read on for a complete look at the rankings.

Xcellent 25 High School Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard

1. (No. 1 last week) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) (13-0)
Though the SNY Invitational mess kept the Friars out of action over the weekend, they did record a 68-28 win over East Orange on Tuesday.

2. (3) Grace Prep (Arlington, Texas) (20-2)
The Lions coasted to easy wins over Pantego Christian (Arlington) and Fort Worth Christian (North Richland Hills) over the weekend. Outside of a possible meeting with Westbury Christian (Houston) in the TAPPS 4A title game, there aren't many major obstacles left on the schedule.

3. (4) Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas) (27-2)
The Marauders are hitting stride at the right time, winning their last four games by 20 points or more. Marcus is an incredible 103-6 over the past three seasons.

4. (5) Milton (Ga.) (18-4)
After helping the Eagles beat Northview (Johns Creek), Centennial (Roswell) and Wheeler (Marietta) last week, Virginia-bound wing Evan Nolte has been in uniform for 100 Milton victories.



5. (6) Simeon (Chicago) (20-1)
The Wolverines – 50-3 over the past two seasons – have won four in a row since a loss two weeks ago at the Spalding Hoophall Classic to Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.).

{PAGEBREAK} 6. (7) Chester (Pa.) (17-0)
The Clippers have held their last eight opponents under 50 points, helping extend their overall win streak to 43 games.

7. (8) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) (19-2)
Katin Reinhardt ended the drama early Friday night in a battle of Trinity League unbeatens, drilling five 3-pointers in the first quarter to send Mater Dei to an 86-71 win over St. John Bosco (Bellflower).

8. (2) Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) (19-1)
No Nate Britt finally caught up with Gonzaga in a Sunday loss to St. John's (Washington, D.C.). The junior point guard and North Carolina pledge has missed the last five games. Gonzaga will have to regroup quickly as it faces No. 23 Paul VI on Tuesday.

9. (10) Southwind (Memphis, Tenn.) (21-2)
Johnathan Williams III and JaJuan Johnson combined for 40 points as the Jaguars stayed unbeaten against in-state opponents with a 69-45 win over Wooddale (Memphis) on Friday night.

10. (11) Ridgeway (Memphis, Tenn.) (21-1)
Friday night against Kirby (Memphis), the Roadrunners led 46-14 at halftime and cruised to a 74-35 victory. Ridgeway vs. Southwind II is scheduled for Feb. 11.



{PAGEBREAK} 11. (12) Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas) (22-4)
Chris Mayberry helped First Academy (Orlando) reach the Florida Class 2A title game last season. His PCA squad will be the favorite to win the TAPPS 5A title this season.

12. (13) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) (16-4)
If the Gaels can close out the season with a state title, it may be tough to deny Shabazz Muhammad national POY honors. The 6-foot-6 senior wing scored 27 points in a win over Desert Oasis (Las Vegas) last Wednesday, then poured in 42 more to go along with 10 rebounds Friday in a 99-75 victory over Durango (Las Vegas).

13. (14) Wichita Heights (Wichita, Kan.) (12-0)
Kansas-bound forward Perry Ellis connected on 11 of 12 field goal attempts and finished with 26 points as Heights rolled past Kapaun Mt. Carmel (Wichita) for its 56th win in a row.

14. (17) Olympic (Charlotte, N.C.) (20-0)
After a pair of comfortable victories last week, the Trojans will focus their attention on Friday's rematch with Harding University (Charlotte). Olympic beat Harding 63-62 on Jan. 6.

15. (18) Columbia (Decatur, Ga.) (19-1)
According to @CHS_Eagles, two Eagles recorded triple-doubles in a 79-55 win over Arabia Mountain (Lithonia) last Tuesday. Junior point guard Tahj Shamsid-Deen posted 12 assists, 11 points and 10 rebounds while 6-8 senior forward Chris Horton added 15 rebounds, 11 blocked shots and 10 points.

{PAGEBREAK} 16. (19) Proviso East (Maywood, Ill.) (17-0)
Without state player of the year candidate Keith Carter, the Pirates eased past Addison Trail (Addison) 79-36 behind 17 points and 12 rebounds from junior Sterling Brown on Saturday.



17. (20) Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) (14-2)
Lone Peak's big three of Nick Emery, T.J. Haws and Talon Shumway combined for 57 points in a 63-50 win over Lehi on Saturday. A big rematch with American Fork is two weeks away.

18. (21) Dunbar (Dayton, Ohio) (15-0)
Without Wichita State pledge Deontae Hawkins, the Wolverines held off Consortium College Prep (Detroit) 63-58 in a big out-of-state matchup Saturday night. Cleveland State signee Gary Akbar notched a game-high 24 points in the win.

19. (22) Pershing (Detroit) (12-0)
Can anybody in Michigan keep the Doughboys under 80 points? Pershing has scored 80 or more in six-straight contests and is averaging 82.4 points per game on the season.

20. (23) Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) (18-1)
Roschon Prince piled up 33 points and 13 rebounds as the Jackrabbits bested Compton 66-56 in a key Moore League game on Friday night.

{PAGEBREAK} 21. (24) Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, Fla.) (20-2)
Josephus Bell poured in 28 points as the Tigers blasted Plantation 76-39 in their only contest last week.

22. (25) Sexton (Lansing, Mich.) (10-1)
Michigan State-bound Denzel Valentine posted 13 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds as the Big Reds beat rival Eastern (Lansing) 72-60 on Friday night. Sexton has won 44 of its last 48 games dating to March of 2010.



23. (NR) Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) (18-2)
With all the early-season attention going to No. 8 Gonzaga and No. 24 DeMatha, Paul VI remains as the lone unbeaten in Washington Catholic Athletic Conference play.

24. (NR) Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.) (26-2)
A win over then-No. 16 Westbury Christian (Houston) on Saturday night added to an already-impressive resume for the Hornets that includes wins over St. Augustine (New Orleans) and a 17-3 Hall (Little Rock, Ark.) squad. One of Scotlandville's losses came against No. 8 Southwind in November.

25. (9) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) (17-3)
It's been a disappointing two-week stretch for the Stags, but it took a 3-pointer at the buzzer for No. 23 Paul VI to knock them off Friday night. DeMatha will get a chance to avenge two of its losses – against Gonzaga on Feb. 10 and Paul VI on Feb. 19.

Dropped out: No. 15 last week Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia); No. 16 Westbury Christian (Houston)