MaxPreps High School Top 25 boys basketball national rankings

Video: Sons of Shaquille O'Neal, Manute Bol face off
Second generation standouts met up Friday night in Southern California playoffs.


1. (No. 1 last week) Nathan Hale (Seattle), 25-0
The Raiders beat two Top 150 teams (West Seattle, Rainier Beach) in the MaxPreps computer rankings en route to the SeaKing District title. Michael Porter Jr. poured in 44 points to help Nathan Hale get past Rainier Beach 88-84 in the final Saturday.

2. (2) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), 26-1
Despite 34 points from Cody Riley and 28 more from Marvin Bagley III, the Trailblazers found themselves down a point with under two minutes to go Friday night in their playoff opener against Heritage Christian (Northridge). Sierra Canyon prevailed 99-93 and advances to face Damien (La Verne) on Tuesday.

3. (3) Chino Hills (Calif.), 28-1
LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball combined for 58 points while Elizjah Scott added 21 as the Huskies ran past JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano) 105-74 in their Southern Section Open Division first round matchup. Next up is Long Beach Poly, who took Chino Hills to the wire in December.



4. (4) Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.), 25-3
East meets Whitehaven (Memphis) in the District 16-AAA title game Tuesday. The Mustangs blasted Melrose (Memphis) 94-48 in the semifinals.

5. (5) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 29-1
A 25-3 second quarter propelled the Monarchs past Crossroads (Santa Monica) 80-44 on Friday in Southern Section Open Division first round play. Mater Dei meets Roosevelt (Eastvale) in the quarterfinals Tuesday.

6. (6) McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.), 27-0
After an 89-55 win over Mill Creek (Hoschton) in its AAAAAAA state tournament opener, things figure to get a whole lot tougher in the second round for McEachern against 24-4 Lambert (Suwanee).

7. (7) Jonesboro (Ark.), 27-0
The Golden Hurricane throttled Searcy 68-19 over the weekend, setting up a conference tournament semifinal game with Hall (Little Rock) on Tuesday.

8. (8) Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia), 24-2
Daron Russell scored 25 points to lead the Panthers past Math Civics & Sciences (Philadelphia) on Saturday in the Public League semifinals. Imhotep meets Martin Luther King in the final Thursday.

9. (9) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), 24-2
Junior guard David Singleton tallied 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Knights beat 21-win Oak Park 83-68 in their Southern Section Open Division opener. Santa Margarita – a Top 25 team nationally according to the MaxPreps computer rankings – awaits in the quarterfinals Tuesday.



10. (10) Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.), 20-4
Roselle Catholic (Roselle) gets its third crack at the Celtics on Tuesday. Patrick School has won 11 in a row against High School Top 25-eligible teams. 11. (12) Greensboro Day (Greensboro, N.C.), 31-3
A 61-50 win over High Point Christian Academy (High Point) pushed the Bengals into the NCISAA Class 3A final four. Head coach Freddy Johnson is looking for his ninth state title.

12. (13) Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), 23-5
Assured at least a share of the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference regular season title, Gonzaga has played eight games against teams that have appeared in the High School Top 25 this season.

13. (11) Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), 23-4
The Panthers can earn a share of the WCAC regular season title with a win over DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) on Monday. That matchup will be Paul VI's eighth game against a team that has appeared in the High School Top 25 this season.

14. (14) Shadow Mountain (Phoenix), 25-0
The Matadors could be playing for a state title Saturday afternoon. But first they will have to get past Moon Valley (Phoenix) on Thursday in the semifinals. Shadow Mountain put up 111 points against Buckeye in the quarters.

15. (15) Klein Forest (Houston), 30-0
Head coach Cary Black's squad will take an unbeaten record into the Texas Class 6A state playoffs. The MaxPreps computer rankings have nine other teams in the 128-school bracket in the Top 100 nationally.

16. (16) Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio), 22-0
After wrapping up an unbeaten regular season Friday, the Fighting Crusaders won't take the floor again until March 1 in the Division I section quarterfinals.



17. (17) Champlin Park (Champlin, Minn.), 21-0
DeLaSalle (Minneapolis), which sports a 19-2 record, represents Champlin Park's toughest remaining regular season test. That matchup takes place Thursday.

18. (18) Newton (Covington, Ga.), 27-1
Isaiah Miller had 24 points and Ashton Hagans added 20 as Newton hit the century mark and won its AAAAAAA playoff opener easily over Peachtree Ridge (Suwanee). Defending state champion and formerly-ranked Westlake (Atlanta) will be a much more formidable challenge in the second round.

19. (19) Linden (N.J.), 19-3
Union could only manage to produce nine first-half points Saturday in a 58-27 loss to Linden. Super junior guard Tavon Jones led the way offensively for the winners with 17 points.

20. (21) Wise (Upper Marlboro, Md.), 17-0
Paced by Darron Barnes and Michael Speight with 17 points apiece, four Pumas finished in double figures Friday in a 76-42 win over Northwestern (Hyattsville).

21. (23) Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, Tenn.), 27-2
Darius Garland and the Eagles carry a 16-game win streak into the postseason.

22. (24) Skyline (Dallas), 29-1
Led by former Division I head coach Paul Graham (Washington State), the Raiders meet Garland in the Class 6A bi-district round on Tuesday.

23. (25) Edwardsville (Ill.), 24-1
Iowa football signee A.J. Epenesa had 29 points (13 of 15 from the field) and 19 rebounds Friday as Edwardsville beat Alton 76-61.



24. (NR) Webster Groves (Mo.), 21-2
Perhaps no team in the country has three more impressive wins in February than Webster Groves, who beat Chicago Public League tournament finalist Morgan Park, Iowa state title favorite Iowa City West and defending Missouri Class 4 state champ Vashon (St. Louis) in a 13-day span. Recent Louisville pledge Courtney Ramey is averaging 19.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game while future Saint Louis Billiken Carte'Are Gordon is contributing 18.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest.

25. (NR) Union (Tulsa, Okla.), 23-0
Although the Redskins haven't stepped out of state, they own wins over Nos. 2 and 3 in Oklahoma Class 6A (Edmond North and Midwest City). Union is also 9-0 in tournament play.

Dropped out: No. 20 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), No. 22 Bolingbrook (Ill.)

Keep an eye on: Basha (Chandler, Ariz.), David W. Butler (Matthews, N.C.), Grand Rapids Christian (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Hudson Catholic (Jersey City, N.J.), Oshkosh North (Oshkosh, Wis.)