Whitney Young, Muskegon, Neumann-Goretti and New Castle capture state titles.
Mater Dei's Stanley Johnson is one win away from his fourth-consecutive state title. Win or lose, the Arizona signee will go down as one of the most highly decorated players ever from California.
Photo by David Hood
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
1. (No. 1 last week) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 34-0The Monarchs outscored playoff nemesis Westchester (Los Angeles) 12-2 down the stretch Saturday night to escape
with a 59-54 win, advancing to California's Open Division state championship game next weekend in Sacramento. Mater Dei will face No. 23 Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) in a rematch of an overtime December win at the Tarkanian Classic.
2. (2) Montverde Academy (Fla.), 25-0 *Montverde Academy is the top seed for the Dick's Sporting Goods High School National Tournament next week in New York City. The Eagles face No. 4 Sagemont in the opening round.
3. (3) Rainier Beach (Seattle), 29-0Also headed to Dick's Nationals, the Vikings will meet No. 15 Findlay Prep in quarterfinal play.
4. (4) Sagemont (Weston, Fla.), 33-0In a bit of a bracketing oddity considering both teams are from Florida, Sagemont opens at Dick's Nationals against No. 1 Montverde Academy. The Lions are pegged No. 18 nationally by USA Today, the rankings favored by organizers and used to help seed bracket.
5. (5) Northside Christian Academy (Charlotte, N.C.), 28-1Another program headed to Dick's Nationals, the Knights will play against storied No. 10 Oak Hill Academy in opening-round action.{PAGEBREAK}
6. (6) Arsenal Technical (Indianapolis), 26-2What looked like a state semifinal blowout turned into a wild scramble Saturday night for the Titans. Leading by 30 in the fourth quarter against Bloomington North, Tech went to the bench and opened the door for an epic comeback attempt. Head coach Jason Delaney's squad held off the late rally for a 75-71 win and will meet Lake Central (St. John) for the 4A state title next weekend.
7. (7) La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.), 23-2The Lakers earned an invite to Dick's Nationals and will meet No. 12 Huntington St. Joseph Prep in the tournament opener.
8. (8) Greater Atlanta Christian (Norcross, Ga.), 32-0Season complete. Class AA state champions.
9. (9) Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.), 33-1Season complete. Division I state champions.
10. (10) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), 39-3The Warriors will attempt to slow down high-scoring No. 5 Northside Christian Academy in the opening round at Dick's Nationals.{PAGEBREAK}
Jahlil Okafor (center with ball) and Whitney Young held off Benet Academy for the Illinois 4A state title Saturday night.
Photo by John Rowland
Season complete. Washington Catholic Athletic Conference tournament, VISAA Division 1 and Alhambra Catholic Invitational champions.
12. (12) Huntington St. Joseph Prep (Huntington, W.Va.), 27-4Making their first appearance at Dick's Nationals, the Fighting Irish take on No. 7 La Lumiere in opening-round play.
13. (13) Whitney Young (Chicago), 29-5 *Season complete. Class 4A state champions.
14. (14) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 30-3 *Season complete. Division I state champions.
15. (15) Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), 30-4Looking for their fourth Dick's Nationals crown, the Pilots open in NYC against No. 3 Rainier Beach.{PAGEBREAK}
16. (16) Muskegon (Mich.), 28-0Season complete. Class A state champions.
17. (17) Our Savior New American (Centereach, N.Y.), 28-3Season complete.
18. (19) North Shore (Houston), 35-3Season complete. Class 5A state champions.
19. (20) Orlando Christian Prep (Fla.), 30-1Season complete. Class 2A state champions.
20. (21) Garfield (Seattle), 27-1Season complete. Class 4A state champions.{PAGEBREAK}
In one of the most inspirational stories of the year, Ja'Quan Newton scored 33 points to lead Neumann-Goretti to the Pennsylvania Class AAA state title the day after his mother lost her battle with cancer.
File photo by Jim Redman
Season complete. Class 5A state champions.
22. (23) Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia), 27-4Season complete. Class AAA state champions.
23. (24) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.), 28-4O'Dowd's confidence should be sky high heading into this weekend's showdown with No. 1 Mater Dei for the Open Division state title. The Dragons have won 23 in a row and dispatched six playoff opponents by an average margin of 27.1 points per game.
24. (NR) New Castle (Pa.), 31-0Season complete. Class AAAA state champions.
25. (25) Germantown (Wis.), 26-2Season complete. Division 1 state champions.
Dropped out: No. 18 last week
Stevenson (Lincolnshire, Ill.)* Record includes forfeit victory
