La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.) shakes up the Top 25 boys basketball rankings after a dominant weekend of hoops at the Cancer Research Classic in Wheeling, W. Va. The Lakers claim the top spot, jumping previous No. 1 McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) despite the Peach State contender winning both games at the Cancer Research Classic.
La Lumiere established itself as the most complete team over the weekend, taking down preseason No. 1 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) – for the second time this season – at the Cancer Research Classic. Although the Lakers' 5-star duo of
Isaiah Stewart and
Keion Brooks was bottled up, combining for 20 points and 10 rebounds in the win, role players stepped up and made a major impact to silence every Eagles run.
Three teams drop out of the rankings, as previous No. 10 Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia) fell twice at the Cancer Research Classic against two strong GEICO Nationals contenders to drop just outside the rankings. Previous No. 12 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) had the same fate in West Virginia, falling to La Lumiere 67-54 and Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 56-50. No. 21 Allen (Texas) was taken down by Dallas Jesuit (Dallas) and fell from the Top 25.
Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) makes the biggest jump, climbing back into the rankings at No. 17 after two extremely impressive wins at the Cancer Research Classic. The Buffaloes defeated Imhotep Charter after jumping on the Panthers early. They followed up the win over the Philadelphia powerhouse with a quality 63-32 victory over a Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) squad that played each of the top two teams in the nation very tough over the past two weeks.
Expect a relatively calm week of basketball this week as most major events will be taking place over Martin Luther King Weekend. The Bass Pro Tournament of Champions, Flyin to the Hoop Classic and Spalding Hoophall Classic headline MLK weekend, with other events taking place all over the country that weekend.
This week is highlighted by a potential New Jersey tournament of champions preview game between No. 10 Ranney (Tinton Falls, N.J.) and No. 23 Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.), while No. 6 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) takes on a pair of quality Washington Athletic Catholic League opponents and
Evan Mobley and No. 13 Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.) take on
James Wiseman and Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.) in a showdown set for Friday on ESPN2.
Read on for a complete look at this week's Top 25 boys high school basketball rankings.
Won decisively in back-to-back games against previous No. 12 Bishop Gorman 67-54 and previous No. 3 Montverde Academy 64-51. The Lakers have now beaten preseason No. 1 Montverde Academy twice and their performance against the Eagles at the Cancer Research Classic made a massive statement.
2. (1) McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.), 12-0Showed a ton of resolve in the Cancer Research Classic finale, battling back from a 15-point halftime deficit in a City of Palms championship game rematch to take down previous No. 10 Imhotep Charter 62-58. Pair that with a quality win over Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) on Friday and the Indians had a successful weekend in Wheeling. The drop in the rankings is due more to the incredible weekend by La Lumiere than anything else.
Captured the Prep Hoops Florida Sun Bash title with a 67-58 championship game win over Miami Christian (Miami). The Ascenders have a monster showdown looming at the Spalding Hoophall Classic in a nationally televised showdown on ESPN with No. 7 Oak Hill Academy on Jan. 20.
Have won six consecutive games by 16 or more since their lone loss of the season to Montverde Academy. The Trailblazers have an opportunity to avenge the defeat of the year at the Spalding Hoophall Classic on Jan. 21.
5. (3) Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), 10-2Drop two spots after their second defeat of the season at the hands of No. 1 La Lumiere. The Eagles' dominant 88-56 win over Norcross (Ga.) came before DeMatha handled Norcross by three, keeping the defending GEICO Nationals champions one spot above the Stags.
Defeated Norcross 70-67 in a back-and-forth game that went down to the wire at the Cancer Research Classic. The Stags have a huge week ahead of them with Washington Catholic Athletic Conference foes Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) and St. John's (Washington, D.C.) on the slate this week.
7. (7) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), 15-1Back in action this week for the first time since a semifinal loss Dec. 21 at the City of Palms Classic. The Warriors face Bishop Walsh on Friday in their return to the court at the Roundball Classic.
The schedule starts ramping up for the Tigers beginning this week with a contest against unbeaten American Fork (Utah). We'll find out a lot about this Wasatch Academy team over the next month with their toughest stretch of games fast approaching.
9. (9) Belleville West (Belleville, Ill.), 17-0Picked up quality wins over Alton (Ill.) 61-55 and Vashon (St. Louis) 79-72 over the weekend.
E.J. Liddell, the 6-foot-7 2019 Ohio State pledge, was dominant against Vashon, finishing with 26 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks in a showdown of two of the top teams in the Midwest region.
Draws tough opponents on back-to-back nights over the weekend, facing No. 23 Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.) and MacDuffie (Granby, Mass.). The Panthers also will do battle with No. 19 Federal Way (Wash.) over Martin Luther King weekend at the Spalding Hoophall Classic.
Three of their last four wins have been by single digits as their winning streak swells to 42 dating back to the start of last season. The Warriors continue to get everyone's best shot down the stretch as the competition continues to ramp up with eight of their final 11 games against opponents with an above-.500 record.
12. (16) Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.), 8-0Have been impressive early in the season behind a balanced attack that really benefits from the offseason addition of true big man
Clifford Omoruyi. The Lions appear to be rounding into form as strong contenders to repeat in the New Jersey tournament of champions.
In one of the most highly anticipated individual matchups of the year, the top big man in the senior class – James Wiseman and Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.) face off against top-ranked junior Evan Mobley and the Eagles. This starts a difficult stretch that includes a showdown with McEachern, a trip to the Montverde Academy Invitational and No. 4 Sierra Canyon.
Two in-state opponents stand between the Matadors and their trip to the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions. The eight-team field includes fellow Top 25 teams McEachern, Belleville West, No. 17 Sunrise Christian Academy and No. 24 Rainier Beach.
Picked up a pair of quality wins at Mustang Madness, knocking off previous No. 17 Curie 63-57 in a battle of unbeatens and Callaway (Jackson, Miss.) 57-53. The two tight wins makes it 10 of 16 games that have been decided by 10 points or fewer this year, including each of their last six contests.
Followed up their Beach Ball Classic title with two wins over quality in-state opponents. The Comets took down Redondo Union (Redondo Beach) 74-60 and Long Beach Poly (Long Beach) 50-42 on back-to-back nights last week.
Took down previous No. 10 Imhotep Charter 53-44 and Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) 63-32. The Buffaloes were one of the most impressive teams at the Cancer Research Classic, securing two impressive wins in games they took control of early.
Notched two big in-state wins over Henry Clay (Lexington) 67-59 and Trinity (Louisville) 56-53 — still without their star senior
Michael Moreno, projected to be out until February.
Followed up their third-place finish at the Tarkanian Classic with an 83-32 victory at Beamer (Federal Way). The Eagles have a major showdown looming at the Spalding Hoophall Classic against No. 10 Ranney.
Fell just short at Mustang Madness — facing their first out-of-state opponent and their first ranked foe of the year. Curie fell to No. 15 Salesian College Prep 63-57. The Condors will have a chance to redeem themselves this week as they battle a talented one-loss Bogan (Chicago) this week on Jan. 8.
Picked up their second quality out-of-state win of the season over the weekend —
defeating Chaminade (St. Louis) 71-62 at the Highland Shootout. Their
lone loss was at the ARS/Rescue Rooter National Hoopfest where they were defeated by a very disciplined Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) that was ranked No. 12 at
the time.
22. (24) Mountain Brook (Birmingham, Ala.), 17-3After completing the most difficult part of their schedule, the Spartans have showdowns with Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.) and Wenonah (Birmingham, Ala.) later this month. The showdown with Wenonah will provide Mountain Brook the opportunity to avenge their only in-state loss of the season.
Moving
into the Xcellent 25 for the first time this season, the Crusaders will
have their biggest test of the year this weekend when they face
No. 10 Ranney (Tinton Falls, N.J.) at the Boardwalk Showcase.
24. (13) Rainier Beach (Seattle), 8-1Suffered
their first defeat of the season — losing to Sheldon 79-63 last week in
their first out-of-state match-up of the season. The Vikings will face a
pair of Seattle Metro League opponents before traveling to the Bass Pro
Tournament of Champions to compete against a loaded field with a major
opportunity to bolster their national resume.
Have only had one game decided by less than ten points this season, outscoring their opponents by over 25 points per contest. The Tigers may find themselves facing their stiffest test of the season this week as they take on Lincoln (Gahanna, Ohio) on the road on Jan. 11.
Dropped Out: No. 10 Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia), No. 12 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), No. 21 Allen (Texas).
Jovon McClanahan, Salesian College Preparatory
Photo by Dan Browning
