AZ Compass Prep, Sunrise Christian Academy, IMG Academy and Link Academy advance to semifinals.
The final game of the day at GEICO Nationals saw No. 8 seed
Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)
pull off the biggest upset in event history by knocking off top seed and
National Top 10 No. 1
Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) 46-45 in a thrilling finish.
Montverde Academy (23-3) appeared to be in control after a 16-0 run over six minutes in the third and fourth quarters that put it ahead 42-32 with just over two minutes remaining. But Sunrise Christian Academy responded
with a 7-0 run of its own.
After the teams traded a baskets, five-star senior
Matas Buzelis converted a four-point play
to cut the Sunrise Christian Academy (21-7) deficit to 45-43 with just
under one minute remaining. Ohio State signee
Scotty Middleton
knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing with 23 seconds remaining
to give the Buffaloes the 46-45 upset victory. Buzelis scored a game-high 17 points in the win.
A four-point play by MaxPreps Kansas Player of the Year Matas Buzelis helped Sunrise Christian Academy overcome Montverde Academy in the final minutes Thursday at GEICO Nationals. (File photo: Marty Beck)
In one of the most exciting finishes of the 2022-23 high school basketball season, No. 6 seed
IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) escaped with a 66-63 victory over No. 3 seed
Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) in another first-round game in Fort Myers, Fla. A buzzer-beating 3-pointer from
Blue Cain banked in off the glass from just inside of halfcourt despite a double team from the Crew to give IMG the win.
Cain, a four-star Class of 2023 prospect, finished with a team-high 21 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Khani Rooths (13),
Jamie Kaiser (11) and
Jacoi Hutchinson (11) each contributed double-figures in the win.
The heroic shot came on the heels of a furious comeback run by Prolific Prep (35-2), which outscored the Ascenders 30-9 in the first 7:50 of the fourth quarter to tie things up at 63-63 with 10 seconds remaining after Auburn signee
Aden Holloway knocked down a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Prolific Prep forced nine turnovers and shot 12 of 21 from the field in the fourth quarter, erasing a 54-33 deficit at the end of the third quarter. Holloway led the comeback, finishing with 21 points for the Crew, while freshman phenom
Tyran Stokes contributed 16 points, five rebounds and five steals in the loss.
AZ Compass Prep 73, Long Island Lutheran 71
Rayvon Griffith gave AZ Compass Prep (23-6) a 71-68 lead with 50 seconds remaining after knocking down a 3-pointer from the right corner. Long Island Lutheran (22-3) tied things up on the other end with 37 seconds to go in the contest after senior Jayden Reid converted an and-one to tie it at 71-71.
Griffith came up clutch again in the final seconds by putting back his teammates miss with 10 seconds remaining to give the Dragons the 73-71 advantage. The Crusaders outscored AZ Compass Prep 27-17 in the fourth quarter sparked by a 10-0 run mid-way through the period.
AZ Compass Prep was paced by a balanced effort that saw five players score nine or more points led by a team-high 12 points from junior
Terrance Hill. Long Island Lutheran was led by 25 points on 9-of-11 from the field from Connecticut signee
Jayden Ross.
Link Academy 66, Paul VI 63
The first quarterfinal contest of the day saw Baylor signee
Ja'Kobe Walter explode for the second most points in GEICO Nationals history with 34 and North Carolina commit Elliot Cadeau set the record for most assists in tournament history with 14 to lead National No. 2
Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) (25-1) to a 66-63 victory over MaxPreps Top 25 No. 6
Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.).
Maryland signee
Deshawn Harris-Smith hit an off-balance 3-pointer from the left wing to cut the Paul VI (33-4) deficit to 66-65 with 16 seconds remaining, but his 3-point attempt to tie things up in the final seconds of the game rimmed out. Harris-Smith finished with a team-high 18 points in the loss.
