Xcellent 25 Boys Basketball Rankings: Three out after weekend upsets

After touting the 43-0 record of Xcellent 25 teams late last week, a dose of humility was served up this weekend. Ahhh, the lessons of high school sports.

It was a given that a top team would fall with Findlay Prep meeting Christ School and Westchester possibly meeting Taft in a tournament final, but we weren’t expecting this:

* Talk about humble pie. Led by Todd Mayo (yes, O.J.’s brother), Germantown, Tenn., shellacked then-No. 14 Wheeler of Marietta, Ga., 94-68, at the Penny Hardaway Classic in Memphis. Mayo tossed in 38 points. Don’t be surprised if Wheeler gets back in the picture later in the season, but so long for now.

* Kentucky’s defending state champion was stunned by an upstart from Indiana as then-No. 22 Holmes of Covington was taken down by Bowman Academy of Gary, 60-58.

* Also in Kentucky, then-No. 25 Scott County fell to Louisville Ballard, 84-81, behind 14 fourth-quarter points from Tyrell Means.

Replacing the fallen powers are Waukegan (Ill.), Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.) and Rice (New York). Eight teams in the the Xcellent 25 have not opened their seasons yet.

Xcellent 25 National High School Boys Basketball Rankings

1. (1 preseason) Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), 10-0
The Pilots dusted off then-No. 17 Christ School (Arden, N.C.), 80-64, and Our Savior New American (Centereach, N.Y.), 78-41, at the Marshall County Hoopfest in Benton, Ky. Findlay Prep gets a rare in-state test on Saturday night against Las Vegas' Bishop Gorman.

2. (2) St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.), 0-0
The Celtics open the season Dec. 18 against Linden.

3. (3) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), 9-0
After a two-week layoff, the Warriors shut down defending Mississippi 4A state champion Jackson Callaway at the Marshall County Hoopfest, 73-46. The 73 points were a season low for Oak Hill after posting an average of 100 points per game over its first eight contests.

4. (4) Yates (Houston, Texas), 3-0
The Lions have grabbed everyone’s attention by averaging 151 points per game in their first three games of the season. Senior guards Joseph Young (30 points per game) and Brandon Peters (28.5) lead the scoring barrage.

5. (5) Northland (Columbus, Ohio), 0-0
The Vikings open the season Dec. 15 vs. Brookhaven.

6. (6) Bloomington South (Bloomington, Ind.), 2-0
Behind 23 points from Dee Davis and 21 from Matt Carlino, the Panthers improved to 2-0 Friday night with a 71-51 win over Bedford North Lawrence.

7. (7) Westchester (Los Angeles), 4-0
A day after getting past Compton Centennial by a single point, the Comets captured their own tournament with a 71-62 win over then-No. 12 Woodland Hills Taft. Senior guard Jordin Mayes scored 24 points in the final.

8. (8) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), 3-0
The Stags collected three lopsided victories last week with the most impressive coming Saturday night over highly-regarded St. Frances of Baltimore, 83-56. Indiana commit Victor Oladipo led the way against St. Frances with 18 points.

9. (9) Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.), 0-0
Weather delayed the start of the season for Stu Vetter’s club, but they will be in action Wednesday against Washington-Lee (Arlington, Va.).

10. (10) Milton (Alpharetta, Ga.), 4-0
The Eagles advanced to 4-0 Saturday night with an 83-58 thumping of Peachtree Ridge.

11. (11) Melrose (Memphis, Tenn.), 8-0
Wins last week over Memphis Kirby (75-35) and Jackson Liberty Tech Magnet (87-57) kept the Golden Wildcats perfect. Junior guard Chris Jones is off to a big start for Melrose, averaging over 25 points per game – including a 50-point outburst Nov. 24 against Memphis East. Six players are averaging nine or more points for coach Jermaine Johnson’s squad.

12. (13) White Station (Memphis, Tenn.), 4-0
All-American candidate guard Joe Jackson scored 38 points to help White Station survive Saturday night with a 92-91 overtime win over Memphis Southwind at the Penny Hardaway Classic. It was the Spartans’ first game since beating Vianney (Kirkwood, Mo.) at the Pepsi Shootout on Nov. 28.

13. (15) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 4-0
Head coach Gary McKnight’s squad captured the Loara High School tournament in impressive fashion, including a 76-63 victory over Los Alamitos in the championship. Anaheim Loara (96-39), Norwalk (116-53) and Anaheim Canyon (89-58) also fell victim to Mater Dei during the event.

14. (16) St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.), 0-0
The Gray Bees open the season Dec. 12 vs. Upper Room Christian (Dix Hills, N.Y.).

15. (18) Ames (Iowa), 2-0
Ames is taking care of business in a big way early on. The Little Cyclones put away Des Moines Roosevelt with a 19-0 run to start the game Friday night en route to an 85-49 win. All-American candidate Harrison Barnes led the way with 22 points.

16. (12) Taft (Woodland Hills, Calif.), 3-1
Can’t knock the Toreadors too much for a loss to No. 7 Westchester on the opening weekend of the season. Like Westchester, Taft also got a tough test in the semifinals in a 60-59 win over Lawndale Leuzinger. Both of head coach Derrick Taylor’s big-gun transfers – Bryce Jones and De’Andre Daniels – had big efforts during the four-game Westchester tournament.

17. (19) Penn Wood (Lansdowne, Pa.), 0-0
The Patriots open the season Dec. 8 vs. Ridley.

18. (20) Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), 4-0
The Eagles passed a big (make that huge) test Saturday with a 66-63 win over Jacksonville Providence Christian, a top 50 preseason team nationally by MaxPreps. Junior forward Steve Mondu-Missi led a balanced Montverde attack with 15 points.

19. (21) Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 4-0
Brandon Knight and the Panthers have overwhelmed foes so far, including Boca Raton St. Andrew’s (80-55) and Tampa Berkeley Prep (73-40) over the weekend. Knight is averaging 33.3 points and over nine rebounds per game, including a 42-point effort Dec. 3 against West Palm Beach Summit Christian.

20. (17) Christ School (Arden, N.C.), 7-1
Like No. 16 Taft, tough to drop the Greenies too far after losing to the nation’s top-ranked team Friday night at the Marshall County Hoopfest. It didn’t take long for the North Carolina program to put that loss behind it with an 80-62 win over Grace Prep Academy (Arlington, Texas) Saturday in Kentucky. Tony Kimbro led the way against Grace Prep with 17 points.

21. (23) Paterson Catholic (Paterson, N.J.), 0-0
The Cougars open the season Dec. 18 at the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla.

22. (24) Madison Memorial (Madison, Wis.), 1-0
Marquette pledge Vander Blue dropped in 23 points as Memorial smashed Madison West 92-55 to open defense of its state title.

23. (NR) Waukegan (Ill.), 4-0
Senior wing Jereme Richmond scored 20 points to lift the Bulldogs past Warren, 57-57, on Friday night. Waukegan gets a good test this week against Quincy Miller and Quality Education Academy (Winston-Salem, N.C.).

24. (NR) Detroit Country Day (Beverly Hills, Mich.), 0-0
The Yellowjackets open the season Dec. 8 vs. Holly.

25. (NR) Rice (New York), 0-0
The Raiders open the season Dec. 11 vs. All Hallows.

Dropped out: No. 14 Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.), No. 22 Holmes (Covington, Ky.), No. 25 Scott County (Georgetown, Ky.)