High school basketball: Top four seeds advance to GEICO Nationals semifinals

It was chalk in Thursday's GEICO Nationals quarterfinal action as each of the top four teams in high school basketball advanced to Friday's semifinals. No. 1 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), No. 2 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.), No. 3 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) and No. 4 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) each took care of business during the tournament's second day.

IMG Academy takes on Sunrise Christian Academy at 2:30 p.m. (ET) Friday while Montverde Academy meets AZ Compass Prep at 4:30 p.m. with a trip to the finals on the line.

The Ascenders, the reigning event champion, fended off a late 22-7 run from No. 7 Milton (Ga.) to escape with a 73-68 victory in the opening contest. Although Milton (28-3) never led in the game, the scrappy public school battled from down 17 points in the second half to cut the deficit to one point with 1:25 remaining.

IMG Academy responded on its next possession with a corner 3 from junior Eric Dailey, followed by a critical defensive stop that resulted in a quick transition layup by five-star junior Jaden Bradley to stretch the lead to a comfortable six points with just 41 seconds remaining.

Bradley finished with a team-high 20 points to go along with six assists and four rebounds, while fellow five-star junior Jarace Walker chipped in 16 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three blocks off the bench for IMG Academy (21-2).

Ohio State pledge Bruce Thornton had 18 points, nine assists and six rebounds for Milton in the loss.

In the second quarterfinal contest, Sunrise Christian Academy (20-3) escaped with a 56-55 win against No. 12 Prolific Prep of Napa Christian (Napa, Calif.) as the Buffaloes finished the game on a 12-4 run to overcome their largest deficit of the game, a 51-44 deficit with 4:23 remaining.

A Kennedy Chandler steal and assist led to a Kendall Brown fast break dunk to give Sunrise Christian Academy a 54-53 advantage with 1:40 remaining, but Prolific Prep (31-4) responded with a pair of free-throws on the other end with 53 seconds remaining to give them the one-point edge.

On the other end, Kennedy Chandler penetrated the defense to draw a double team before kicking out to an open Zach Clemence, who attacked the closeout and finished with a game-winning reverse slam with 35 seconds remaining. A pair of defensive stops closed out the gritty win for the Buffaloes.

Brown, the Baylor signee, led all scorers with 21 points, while Tennessee-bound Chandler had 11 points, six steals, five assists and three rebounds.

A balanced attack led top-seed Montverde Academy (22-1) to a convincing 85-64 victory over Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.). The Eagles never trailed and held a comfortable lead throughout, leading by as many as 24 points early in the third period.

Michigan signee Caleb Houstan finished with a team-high 20 points, seven points and three rebounds, while No. 2 ranked junior center Jalen Duren had 15 points and nine rebounds.

Five-star junior MJ Rice scored 23 points and added four rebounds for the 20-9 Warriors.

AZ Compass Prep (28-1) overcame an abysmal first half to knock off No. 10 Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 59-54 in the day's final contest.

After shooting just 5-of-23 from the field over the first two quarters, the Dragons responded with a second-half flurry, shooting 12-of-24 in the second half to outscore the Tigers 41-27.

MaxPreps National Player of the Year finalist TyTy Washington continued to bolster his impressive senior campaign, pumping in a game-high 22 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Fousseyni Traore finished with 20 points, four rebounds and three steals in the loss for Wasatch Academy (18-7).

Friday, April 2
Games on ESPN2 (Eastern time)
2:30 p.m. — Sunrise Christian Academy vs. IMG Academy
4:30 p.m. — Montverde Academy vs. AZ Compass Prep

Saturday, April 3
Game on ESPN
Noon — Championship