No. 1 Montverde Academy vs. No. 2 IMG Academy on Sunday headlines weekend of Top 25 battles.
The most highly anticipated weekend of the 2020-21 high school basketball season tipped off on Friday as nine ranked teams have taken the court at the St. James NIBC Invitational.
No. 3 Sunrise Christian Academy was able to overcome an early double digit deficit to defeat No. 2 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 69-62 in the biggest game of the day on Monday. The Buffaloes were paced by senior guard
Kennedy Chandler who finished with 26 points, four rebounds and three assists.
In the final game of the event, No. 1 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) downed No. 9 Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 70-59 behind another dominant performance from their elite junior big man
Jalen Duren who posted 18 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.
Three match-ups between ranked teams on Sunday were headlined by the biggest game of the season as No. 1 Montverde Academy defeated No. 2 IMG Academy 55-51 in a back-and-forth contest Sunday evening. The Eagles were paced by
Caleb Houstan who finished with a team-high 16 points and Jalen Duren who stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, eight rebounds and five blocks.
Other notable games on Sunday included No. 4 Oak Hill
Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) defeating No. 20 La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) 52-49
and No. 3 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) cruising past No. 5 Paul VI
(Fairfax, Va.) 73-58.
The first upset of the weekend came in a Saturday afternoon contest between No. 5 Paul VI and Houston (Germantown, Tenn.). The Mustangs picked up a signature 86-72 victory over the fifth-ranked Panthers behind 20 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals from
Johnathan Lawson, while
Mason Miller chipped in 21 points and five rebounds.
The monster slate of games in Northern Virginia tipped off Friday with three matchups between ranked opponents, headlined by an unbeaten showdown between top-ranked Montverde Academy and No. 4 Oak Hill Academy. After a tightly contested first half of play, the Eagles used a 28-9 third quarter to propel them to a 93-60 triumph. Jalen Duren was dominant in the win, finishing with 19 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks in three quarters of play.
Wasatch Academy impressed earlier in the day, defeating No. 24 Legacy Early College (Greenville, S.C.) 79-60 powered by 20 points from
Richard Isaacs and 12 points to go along with 15 rebounds for
Fousseyni Traore.
Sunrise Christian Academy used a strong second half effort to knock off No. 20 La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) 57-46.
Kendall Brown and Kennedy Chandler were the standouts in the win for the Buffaloes as each created havoc on defense with six steals apiece, while Brown scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds and Chandler finished with 10 points and five assists.
St. James NIBC Invitational Scoreboard
3:30 p.m. —
No. 9 Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) vs. No. 24 Legacy Early College (Greenville, S.C.)
5:15 p.m. — No. 3 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) vs. No. 20 La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.)
7 p.m. — No. 1 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) vs. No. 4 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.)
8:45 p.m. — No. 2 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) vs. Houston (Germantown, Tenn.)
Saturday, Jan. 1612:30 p.m. — No. 9 Wasatch Academy vs. Hamilton Heights Christian Academy
2:15 p.m. — No. 5 Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) vs. Houston
Sunday, Jan. 17
1:30 p.m. — No. 24 Legacy Early College vs. Bishop Walsh, ESPN3
3:30 p.m. — No. 20 La Lumiere vs. No. 4 Oak Hill Academy, ESPN3
5:30 p.m. — No. 3 Sunrise Christian vs. No. 5 Paul VI, ESPN3
7: 30 p.m. — No. 1 Montverde Academy vs. No. 2 IMG Academy, ESPN
Monday, Jan. 1811 a.m. — No. 20 La Lumiere School vs. No. 24 Legacy Early College, ESPNU
1 p.m. — No. 4 Oak Hill Academy vs. iSchool of Lewisville (Lewisville, Texas), ESPNU
3 p.m. — No. 3 Sunrise Christian Academy vs. No. 2 IMG Academy, ESPNU
5 p.m. — No. 9 Wasatch Academy vs. No. 1 Montverde Academy, ESPNU
Note: Games involving club teams are not included in scoreboard.
