Despite trailing for the first 26 minutes of Saturday night's final at the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions in Springfield, Mo., No. 2
McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) emerged as the champion – and kept its record perfect on the season.
Junior point guard
Sharife Cooper came up huge down the stretch for McEachern. The 6-foot-1 Top 25 prospect hit a game-tying three with 1:06 remaining in regulation. For an encore, he hit the game-winning three with 25 seconds remaining in overtime from nearly an identical position in the right corner.
Cooper was just 7 of 21 from the field but the MaxPreps National Player of the Year contender came up big when it mattered most, finishing with a team-high 20 points after knocking down a pair of late free throws to secure the win. He averaged 26.3 points per game during three games in Springfield, taking home tournament MVP honors and once again proving he is one of the most clutch players in high school basketball.
McEachern trailed by as many as 11 points and played without Northwestern pledge
Jared Jones for a long stretch in the first half due to foul trouble.
In addition to the win over Sunrise Christian, the Indians notched a victory over No. 12
Shadow Mountain (Phoenix) in their semifinal contest. They also captured the City of Palms Classic last month in Florida.
N'Faly Dante
, a 6-11 junior regarded as a Top 10 prospect, had a monster performance in the championship game loss, finishing with 21 points (9 of 12 from the field), 11
rebounds and three blocks.

McEachern celebrates Saturday night in Springfield after winning its second major tournament of the 2018-19 season.
Photo by: Randy Kemp

McEachern head coach Mike Thompson acknowledges victory late in the title game at the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions.
Photo by: Randy Kemp

Junior point guard Sharife Cooper scored 20 points in the Bass Pro championship game and earned tournament MVP honors.
Photo by: Randy Kemp