Top 25 high school basketball rankings

On a weekend that saw five ranked teams fall, it was the Seven Cities Roundball Classic in Portsmouth, Va., that generated the biggest storylines.

The featured game of the event was a showdown between Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) and Norcom (Portsmouth, Va.), ranked Nos. 6 and 15 nationally last week, respectively. The pairing didn't disappoint the reported crowd of 2,500 as Virginia Tech signee Dorian Finney-Smith connected on a pair of free throws with under 10 seconds remaining to give the program its 23rd win in as many games.

"It's a great win," Norcom coach Leon Goolsby told Larry Rubama of the Virginian-Pilot. "It ranks right up there with the state championship. It was a great game and everybody got their money's worth."

That wasn't the only result of note in Portsmouth.

Academy of the New Church (Bryn Athyn, Pa.) – No. 22 last week and the only other team to beat Findlay Prep this year – destroyed James McAdoo and Norfolk Christian (Norfolk, Va.) 70-31. Norfolk Christian took Norcom to the wire two days prior and has been competitive with programs like Dwyer (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), Milton (Ga.) and Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.), and even beat a talented Dr. Krop team from Miami.

The Pennsylvania school moves to No. 17 this week.

Finally, there is the Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.) Railsplitters of Stephon Marbury, Sebastian Telfair and Lance Stephenson fame re-emerging as a national power once again. The NYC program held off a persistent Kecoughtan (Hampton, Va.) team led by star sophomore Rodney Bullock.

The Railsplitters improved to 11-0 and make their Xcellent 25 season debut. Read on for a rundown on this week's elite high school basketball teams.

Xcellent 25 High School Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard

1. (No. 1 last week) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) (15-0)
Did not play last week. The Warriors return to the court Wednesday against Christian Faith Center Academy (Creedmoor, N.C.).

2. (2) St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.) (7-0)
The Celtics prevailed over St. Benedict's Prep on Sunday night in the least-anticipated matchup between the rivals in recent years. Michael Gilchrist scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while Chris Martin added 22 to spark a 73-65 win in a game that was part of the Scholarship Fund for Inner-City Children Festival in Union. Gilchrist scored 22 points and DeShawn Suber added 16 in a 90-41 Thursday win over Cranford.

3. (3) Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.) (12-0)
Just one game on the slate last week for the Wolverines, a 57-51 win over Tucker. Miller Grove returns to action Tuesday against Lakeside (Atlanta).

4. (4) St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.) (7-0)
Participating in the same event that featured St. Patrick vs. St. Benedict's Prep, St. Anthony steamrolled St. Joseph Regional (Montvale) 76-44 behind 17 points from Lucious Jones. Myles Mack (team-high 23 points) and Kyle Anderson combined for 40 points to help the Friars notch a 64-43 win over St. John-Vianney (Holmdel) on Friday night.

5. (5) Simeon (Chicago, Ill.) (11-0)
The Wolverines dominated Julian (Chicago), 108-59, and Gage Park (Chicago), 87-36, last week. Sophomore star Jabari Parker led the way in the latter with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

6. (7) Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) (13-0)
After winning three tournaments in December, the Jackrabbits jumped into Moore League play against Compton last Wednesday and delivered a 59-40 win behind 19 points from Alex Carmon.

7. (15) Norcom (Portsmouth, Va.) (12-0)
The 68-66 win over then-No. 6 Findlay Prep wasn't Norcom's only impressive victory last week. The Greyhounds also defeated Norfolk Christian 69-67 in a battle of the area's top two teams.

8. (8) North Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) (7-0)
The Panthers piled up 28 first-quarter points and had 50 at the half in a 90-72 win over Ben Davis (Indianapolis) on Friday night. Led by star junior guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, North Central is averaging 82.1 points per game.

9. (10) Hopkins (Minnetonka, Minn.) (9-0)
Here's another Big 10-country high school team putting up points at a rate that easily outpaces the region's college kids. In its latest outing, Hopkins got 22 points from Marvin Singleton in a 92-55 win over Henry (Minneapolis). The Royals are averaging 93.2 points per game, including three times over the century mark. Minnesota signee Joe Coleman is putting up 23.6 points per outing while Singleton adds 17.2.

10. (12) Lincoln (San Diego, Calif.) (14-1)
The Hornets continue to legitimize their place among the nation's elite, beating a fellow defending California state champion in Serra (Gardena) 73-61 Saturday at the San Diego vs. Los Angeles Hoops Challenge. UCLA signee Norman Powell led Lincoln with 29 points in that contest while sophomore Tyree Robinson added 18. Head coach Jason Bryant's buzzsaw also hammered University City (San Diego) by 60 points and Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) by 40 last week.

11. (13) Milton (Ga.) (12-2)
The Eagles got after North Forsyth (Cumming) on Friday night in a 112-47 victory. Milton heads to Springfield, Mass., for a showdown with No. 1 Oak Hill Academy next Saturday as part of the Spalding Hoophall Classic.

12. (11) Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, Fla.) (13-0)
The Apaches haven't been involved in a game decided by fewer than 11 points since Nov. 26, including an 82-28 win over Impact Academy (Hayward, Calif.) and 85-45 blowout of Tampa Bay Christian Academy (Tampa) last week. ACD is still a huge question mark with a win over disappointing Norcross (Ga.) standing up as its signature victory. Games against St. Benedict's Prep, Montrose Christian and Oak Hill Academy over the next month should help clear things up.

13. (18) Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) (10-0)
A 32-point win over Coolidge (Washington, D.C.) on Friday night capped another dominant week for the Mustangs. Montrose Christian is allowing just 42.8 points per game this season and getting double-figures scoring from four players – Villanova signee Tyrone Johnson (16.0 points per game), Justin Anderson (14.9), Michael Carrera (14.3) and Tyler Hubbard (13.1). A post-Christmas trip to Puerto Rico for a tournament mentioned in last week's rankings was canceled.

14. (21) Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas) (21-1)
Junior guard Phil Forte had a big week for Marcus, averaging 26.5 points per game in easy wins over Plano and Allen. The Marauders have won 14 games in a row since being upset in early December.

15. (17) Wichita Heights (Wichita, Kan.) (7-0)
Star junior forward Perry Ellis lifted the Falcons to a 66-58 win over Southeast (Wichita) with a game-high 25 points Saturday night. Heights also beat Bishop Carroll (Wichita, Kan.) 62-36 earlier in the week.

16. (19) Quality Education Academy (Winston-Salem, N.C.) (16-2)
Lekan Ajayi, a 6-11 senior, scored 10 points and snatched 13 rebounds in a 60-51 Wednesday win over Christian Faith Center Academy (Creedmoor).

17. (22) Academy of the New Church (Bryn Athyn, Pa.) (10-2)
Watch out – an extremely talented bunch of Lions are beginning to put it together. The blowout over Norfolk Christian at the Seven Cities Roundball Classic put an exclamation point on a week that also included wins over Friends Select (Philadelphia) and Abington Friends (Jenkintown).

18. (23) Lincoln (Dallas, Texas) (20-1)
After suffering their first loss Dec. 29, the Tigers nearly dropped another contest Saturday night against Wilson (Dallas). Lincoln trailed at the half, but rallied behind 25 points from LeBryan Nash for a 64-62 win. Nash, a 6-7 Oklahoma State signee, is averaging 23.9 points per game.

19. (24) Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) (13-0)
The Flyers capped a challenging week Friday night by beating St. Louis University (St. Louis) 69-64 behind 33 points from future Florida Gator Bradley Beal. Chaminade had an easier time dispatching Christian Brothers (St. Louis) and MICDS (St. Louis).

20. (9) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) (12-1)
The Stags suffered their first loss of the season Saturday at the Cancer Research Classic in West Virginia, falling 49-46 to St. Andrew's (Barrington, R.I.). DeMatha has a chance to put the setback behind it Saturday at the Hoophall Classic against No. 4 St. Anthony.

21. (16) Jeffersontown (Louisville, Ky.) (14-1)
Injuries caught up with the Chargers last Friday against rival Eastern (Louisville) as three starters – including Division I-bound standouts Tony Kimbro Jr. and Zach Price – were on the bench during a 64-57 loss. J-Town beat Eastern 69-61 in the final of the King of the Bluegrass Holiday Classic last month. All three are expected to return in the coming weeks and even without their services, Jeffersontown beat Roger Bacon (Cincinnati, Ohio) 52-45 over the weekend at the Dunkin Donuts National Shootout.

22. (6) Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) (17-2)
With two losses, Findlay Prep's national championship hopes are fading but expect head coach Michael Peck to keep his team's attention on earning a trip to the National High School Invitational to close the season.

23. (14) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) (14-2)
The Monarchs were also hit by the upset bug, dropping a Trinity League contest to Orange Lutheran (Orange), 59-56. They gave up 48 points to St. John Bosco (Bellflower) guard Cezar Guerrero in an 86-77 win earlier in the week, so following a stellar showing at the City of Palms Classic last month, the storied SoCal program is reeling a bit. Mater Dei will try to get back on track Wednesday against rival Servite (Anaheim).

24. (25) Winter Park (Fla.) (13-4)
Following three-straight losses – including two at the hands of No. 11 Milton – the Wildcats became the bully again with wins over Orlando programs Oak Ridge (82-53), Edgewater (78-49) and Freedom (86-61). An ESPN-televised matchup between Winter Park and No. 2 St. Patrick is scheduled for Friday. The game will feature the top two prospects in MaxPreps.com's 2011 Top 100 – No. 1 Gilchrist of St. Patrick and No. 2 Austin Rivers of Winter Park.

25. (NR) Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.) (11-0)
The Railsplitters don't have the singular star they have had in the past, but instead rely on a deep rotation that includes senior guard Shaquille Stokes (16 points per game), rising freshman star Isaiah Whitehead (13.2) and 6-9 junior Kamari Murphy (13.2). Lincoln is also getting big contributions from junior 7-footer Jordan Dickerson and 6-6 senior forward Mike White.