High school basketball: National Top 10 No. 2 Montverde Academy blows past previously-unbeaten No. 1 Link Academy 84-58

In a highly-anticipated battle of top National Top 10 programs, No. 2 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) handed No. 1 Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) its first loss of the season 84-58 sparked by 15-0 and 12-0 first quarter runs.

Five-star junior Derik Queen led the way with a game-high 21 points and 13 rebounds. Four-star junior Liam McNeeley contributed 15 points, four-star junior Curtis Givens chipped in 13 points, five-star Oregon signee Kwame Evans tallied 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists and five-star junior Asa Newell had 10 points and nine rebounds in the statement victory.

An early flurry put Montverde Academy (21-2) ahead 17-2 midway through the first quarter following a 15-0 run. A layup following an offensive rebound from Queen started the onslaught before Givens knocked down a 3-pointer off an assist from five-star sophomore Cooper Flagg.

Queen continued his dominant start to the contest with a layup prior to converting a pair of free throws to give him eight of Montverde's first 11 points. Givens then knocked down back-to-back 3-point field goals before North Carolina commit Elliot Cadeau answered with a pair of free throws to end the early spurt.

Tennessee signee Cade Phillips made a layup through contact and converted his free throw to give Link Academy five consecutive points but the Eagles countered with a 12-0 rally to close the quarter with a 29-7 lead. Link Academy (23-1) attempted to battle back throughout the contest, including a 6-0 spurt in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 12 points, but were unable to overcome the early onslaught.

Montverde Academy led 48-31 at halftime and 63-44 at the end of the third period.

Cadeau finished with a team-high 17 points in the loss. Five-star Baylor signee Ja'Kobe Walter had 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Missouri program.

The victory puts the Eagles in strong position for the top seed in GEICO Nationals, where they will be looking for their third consecutive title and seventh overall.

Montverde Academy looks to continue its momentum tomorrow against MaxPreps Top 25 No. 19 Roselle Catholic. Link Academy hopes to bounce back next week against Winston-Salem Christian (Winston-Salem, N.C.) on Feb. 10.