Seven teams in the National Top 20 rankings, including the top four squads, take the floor this weekend as the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC) begins play.
No. 3 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) opened NIBC action with a 68-62 victory over No. 2 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) in a game the Buffaloes didn't trail after the opening minutes.
The Ascenders made multiple pushes in the second half, including cutting the deficit as low as one-point in the final minutes. Host No. 1 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) followed up the Buffaloes win with a dominant victory over No. 8 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 86-51.
Top Thursday night performers included senior Ohio State pledge
Roddy Gayle finishing with 29 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists, senior Indiana signee
Jalen Hood-Schifino tallying 21 points, six assists and three steals and five-star unsigned senior
Mark Mitchell pacing the Buffaloes with 22 points and five rebounds.
No. 2 Sunrise Christian Academy picked up another big victory on Friday night, defeating No. 8 Oak Hill Academy 64-61 in a tightly contested game throughout. Mitchell and
Gradey Dick led the way with 19 points apiece for the Buffaloes. Kentucky signee
Chris Livingston scored a game-high 20 points and Duke commit
Caleb Foster had 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the loss.
The matchup between top-ranked opponents lived up to the billing as No. 2 IMG Academy stunned No. 1 Montverde Academy 65-64 on a
Keyonte George game-winner. The Ascenders were paced by 20 points, seven rebounds and five blocks from
Jarace Walker, while George chipped in 14 points.
Dariq Whitehead had 31 points in a signature performance despite the loss. The Duke signee had one of the best games of his Montverde career and displayed the ability to score on all levels on the court.
No. 7 La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) finished the weekend alone atop the NIBC standings after three lopsided victories at the Bob Kirk Invitational; shellacking No. 11 Wasatch Academy
(Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 86-57, thrashing No. 19 Legacy Early College (Greenville, S.C.) 78-46 and blowing past Bishop Walsh (Cumberland, Md.) 57-36.
Junior guard
Aden Holloway was the Lakers leading scorer, averaging 16.3 points and shooting an efficient 75 percent from the field while connecting on 7-of-10 3-point attempts.
In the first showdown between Top 10 teams on Sunday, No. 2 IMG Academy took down No. 8 Oak Hill Academy 87-75 behind another impressive performance from Walker who finished with 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in the win. Warriors guard
Judah Mintz had a game-high 30 points to go along with five assists and four rebounds.
The final contest of the weekend saw No. 1 Montverde Academy defeat No. 3 Sunrise Christian Academy 53-44 in a game the Eagles led for the final three quarters. Whitehead had a strong outing in the win, finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
Thursday, Dec. 2
Friday, Dec. 3
Saturday, Dec. 4
