High school basketball: In battle of No. 1 teams, Montverde Academy slips past Paul VI 69-62 in City of Palms semifinals

FORT MYERS, FLA. — In a showdown between No. 1-ranked teams in MaxPreps.com's two sets of high school basketball rankings, Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) escaped with a 69-62 victory over Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) led by 20 points and seven rebounds from five-star senior Derik Queen.

Montverde Academy (13-0), the top-ranked team in the National Top 10, advances to tomorrow's City of Palms Classic title game where it will face the winner of No. 2 Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.) vs. No. 4 Link Academy (Branson, Mo.).

Paul VI held a 21-18 advantage after the first quarter. Monterde Academy surged back to take a 36-30 lead into halftime and the Eagles maintained a 48-47 advantage headed into the final quarter of play.

Five-star sophomore Jordan Smith opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with a mid-range basket from the right corner with just under seven minutes remaining. Montverde Academy responded with a 7-0 run over the next two minutes of play. Five-star Indiana signee Liam McNeeley knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing before top-ranked Duke signee Cooper Flagg finished a transition layup through contact and Queen threw down a dunk to give the Eagles a 55-49 lead with under five minutes to play.

Following a free throw from Paul VI on the other end, McNeeley connected on a 3-pointer from the right wing to extend Montverde's edge to 58-50. Rhode Island signee Ben Hammond converted a pair of driving layups for the Panthers to cut the deficit to 58-54 with under three minutes to play.

Flagg responded with a throwdown on the other end with 2:15 remaining to stretch the advantage to 60-54 before Hammond continued his personal eight-point run with a mid-range basket followed by another layup to cut the deficit to 60-58 with 1:30 to play.

Four-star Baylor signee Robert Wright III and three-star Notre Dame signee Garrett Sundra traded baskets to make things 62-60 with 1:10 remaining. 

The Eagles closed the game on a 7-2 spurt as McNeeley walked into a 3-pointer from the top of the key with one minute remaining before Wright converted a transition layup and Wright finished another layup in the closing seconds.

Paul VI (7-1) will look to rebound in the City of Palms Classic third-place game where it will take on the loser in the Long Island Lutheran-Link Academy matchup.