High school basketball: Late run sparks No. 3 Sunrise Christian Academy to GEICO Nationals finals with 70-63 win over IMG Academy

National Player of the Year finalist Kennedy Chandler leads Buffaloes with 25 points, five rebounds and five assists.

MaxPreps Boys Basketball National Player of the Year Finalists 29,426 views 2:45

No. 3 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) closed with a 19-4 run to beat No. 4 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 70-63 Friday and advance to its first GEICO Nationals championship appearance.

Five-star Tennessee signee Kennedy Chandler sparked the Buffaloes late-game burst with a 7-0 personal run. His heroics started with a left-win 3-pointer to put Sunrise Christian up 62-60 and followed that with a layup to extend the lead to four with one minute remaining.

Stifling defense played a major factor in the win, as the Buffaloes limited IMG Academy to four points and one made field goal in the final 5:45.

Chandler, who was recently named as a MaxPreps National Player of the Year finalist, finished with a game-high 25 points to go with five rebounds and five assists.

Kennedy Chandler scored a game-high 25 in Sunrise Christian Academy's 70-63 win Friday over IMG Academy.

Photo by Pete Wright

Five-star junior Jaden Bradley finished with a team-high 18 points and six assists for IMG Academy (21-3).

Sunrise Christian Academy (21-3) also won its previous meeting with IMG Academy, knocking off the Ascenders 69-62 on Jan. 18.

The Buffaloes play either Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) or AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) in Saturday's championship.

GEICO Nationals championship

Saturday, April 3
Game on ESPN
Noon — No. 3 Sunrise Christian Academy vs. No. 1 Montverde Academy