Courtesy of Monden Photography
The 2015-2016
Montverde Academy Boys' Varsity Basketball team (16-1) were once again very busy over the school's Christmas break! The MVA schedule is not for the faint of heart. The caliber of top ranked teams they play and the grueling travel will undoubtedly get them ready for the next level - in college and beyond. Ben Simmons, D'Angelo Russell, Dakari Johnson, Devin Williams, Justin Bibbs, Chris Egi, Jalen Patterson, Kasey Hill and Noah Dickerson are all college players and are all former MVA Eagles who know the challenging experience of holiday competition.
The Eagles boarded their Christmas day bus to Myrtle Beach after a few short hours back on campus Dec. 24 after the City of Palms Tournament. Laundry, re-pack, sleep. They had an 8.5-hour long trip ahead to contemplate their one-point loss in the City of Palms Tournament to Chino Hills, Calif. No. 1 ranked Montverde Academy vs. No. 2 Chino Hills was one of the most exciting games played in the prestigious Ft. Myers tournament. The Eagles then flew to Myrtle Beach, S.C., to compete in the highly respected Beach Ball Classic, where they defeated St. Francis (Georgia) by the score of 81-55, and Socastee (South Carolina) 99-21. Montverde Academy also defeated Seton Hall Prep (New Jersey) 66-59 in the BBC Semifinal, and St. John's College Prep (Washington, DC) 52-48 to win the BBC Championship. BBC Director and Mayor, Johnny Rhodes, also bestowed a great honor on Coach Kevin Boyle the night of the championship game by inducting Coach Boyle into the Beach Ball Classic Coach's Hall of Fame. He noted that Coach Boyle was the first coach to ever win the championship as head coach with two different school teams. First the St. Patrick Celtics in 2008, and this year with the Eagles. In the new year, the Eagles then journeyed to Wheeling, West Virginia, to compete in the Cancer Research Classic where they defeated then #4 nationally ranked DeMatha High School (Maryland) 74-71.
On Saturday, January 9th, MVA defeated Florida's Deltona High School Wolves (13-4) with a final score of 95-46 in a game played at MVA's Center for Sportsmanship and Wellness (The Nest). The Eagles have now won eight straight games and are nationally ranked #4 in CBS MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings for the first week in January, 2016. This month, MVA plays Philadelphia Roman Catholic, and, Chatsworth Sierra Canyon (California) on January 16th and 18th at the Spalding Hoophall Classic, which will be held in Springfield, Massachusetts and is widely regarded as one of the nation's premiere high school invitational basketball tournaments. MVA's Varsity Boys' basketball team's first game will be against Roman Catholic (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) on Saturday, January 16 at 2:00 p.m. The game will be held at Blake Arena on the campus at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. MVA's Center for Basketball Development's Senior team (14-0), coached by Kevin Boyle, Jr., will also be competing in the tournament. Later this month, Montverde Academy will defend its championship in the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament (MAIT) which begins on Thursday, January 28th, and runs through Saturday, January 30th.
The list of 2016 MAIT Participants are as follows:
1. Montverde Academy
2. Coolidge High School (Washington, D.C.)
3. Miami Christian School (Miami, FL)
4. Mustang High School (OK)
5. Providence School (Jacksonville, FL)
6. Sagemont School (Westin, FL)
7. The First Academy (FL)
8. Wasatch Academy (UT)
After the 2016 MAIT, Montverde Academy will have four games remaining on its schedule as they seek selection into the 2016 DICK'S Sporting Goods High School Nationals Tournament being played March 31st – April 2nd at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In related Eagles Boys' Varsity Basketball team news, this month Montverde Academy seniors Bruno Fernando and Micah Potter were nominated for the 2016 McDonald's All-American game! Montverde Academy Boys' Varsity Basketball team has won a remarkable 46 of its last 48 games since the beginning of last season.
