Friday's first semifinal contest saw Paul VI, ranked No. 1 in the MaxPreps Top 25, outlast National Top 10 No. 4
Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) 58-44 in an impressive wire-to-wire victory. The Panthers used a suffocating defensive effort to hold Link Academy to 26.7 percent shooting from the field and 15.4 percent from 3-point range.
Duke signee
Darren Harris led the way with a game-high 20 points, Connecticut signee
Isaiah Abraham chipped in 15 points and four rebounds and Rhode Island signee
Ben Hammond contributed 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
Ben Hammond surged toward the basket Friday in Paul VI's win over Link Academy. The future Rhode Island Ram tallied 11 points and nine rebounds in the Chipotle Nationals semifinal victory. (Photo: Julie L. Brown)
Link Academy (26-7) got off to a slow start following a double-overtime victory against
Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) in their first-round matchup yesterday. Paul VI took advantage, jumping out to a 12-0 lead and holding the Lions scoreless for over five minutes before five-star Texas signee
Tre Johnson hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with 2:37 remaining in the opening quarter.
Paul VI (34-2) led 21-6 at the end of the first quarter and 33-20 at the half. Link Academy gained momentum headed into the fourth quarter as it closed the third period on a 10-2 run to cut the Panthers lead to seven.
The Panthers put away Link Academy with a 7-0 spurt to start the fourth quarter, culminating with an electric alley-oop slam from sophomore
Jordan Smith to make it 49-35.
Montverde Academy 84, Columbus 70
Top-ranked Duke signee
Cooper Flagg produced 28 points, six rebounds and three assists to guide Montverde Academy, ranked No. 1 in the National Top 10, to an 82-70 victory over MaxPreps Top 25 No. 2
Columbus (Miami, Fla.) in the second semifinal contest.
Montverde
Academy (33-0) never trailed, leading 15-6 at the end of the first quarter and 40-23 at the half. Flagg scored 19 of his 28 in the opening 16 minutes.
Columbus (28-5) cut the deficit to just seven at 67-60 midway through the fourth quarter but it was unable to get any closer.
For Montverde, unsigned five-star senior
Liam McNeeley tallied 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Baylor signee
Robert Wright III chipped in 13 points and six assists and five-star Maryland signee
Derik Queen recorded 16 points and six rebounds.
Despite a slow start, No. 2-ranked junior
Cameron Boozer finished with a game-high 29 points and seven rebounds. Michigan State signee
Jase Richardson had 19 points, five assists and four rebounds in his final high school game.
Cooper Flagg helped Montverde Academy put Columbus on the ropes early with 19 first-half points. (Photo: Julie L. Brown)
