The final day of action at the City of Palms Classic was worth the
wait as the championship outcome came down to final seconds as National
Top 20 No. 3 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) defeated No. 9 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) 60-55 on Wednesday night.
A
close game from the tip saw six lead changes and six ties as the Eagles
found a way to make plays in a frenzied final 30 seconds.
Montverde Academy captured its third City of Palms Classic championship
since 2016.
Dillon Mitchell was named tournament MVP after finishing with 16
points and nine rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting.
The City of Palms Classic Signature Series came down to a battle of
top 10 National Top 20 programs as No. 5 AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) used a
strong second half to knock off No. 7 Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.)
58-43.
The Dragons saw a balanced effort in
the win as five players scored eight or more points led by Mook Cookie
who finished with 12 points and five rebounds. AZ Compass won the battle
on the boards also, out-rebounding the Goats 31-20 while holding them to 34.8 percent from the field.
The City of Palms Classic semifinals lived up to the hype as three
top 10 teams in the National Top 20 fought for a spot in Wednesday's
championship game.
In the 16-team traditional bracket, the first semifinal contest saw Oak Hill Academy upset No. 1 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 76-72 in a back-and-forth affair with 17 lead changes and 12 ties.
In the other semifinal, Montverde Academy overcame a slow start to defeat Milton (Ga.) 59-44.
After
shooting 25 percent from the field in the first quarter and 33 percent
from the field in the first half, Montverde (8-2) trailed 24-23 at the
half before flipping the script and shooting 54 percent for the
remainder of the contest.
Montverde outscored
5-3 Milton 36-20 in the second half and extended its lead to a game-high
16 points following a 12-0 fourth-quarter run.
Day one of City of Palms Classic action was headlined by a pair of top 10 teams in the MaxPreps Top 25 losing in first round action as Calvary Christian Academy handled No. 7 Greensboro Day (N.C.) 62-43 in the first game of the day and Whitney Young upended No. 9 Gill St. Bernard's (Gladstone, N.J.) 70-58 in the nightcap.
Other first round games on Monday included Orlando Christian Prep knocking off St. John's (Washington, D.C.) 59-48 and Milton running past Charlotte (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 65-42.
Day two wrapped up first round play as North Little Rock came from behind to defeat Dr. Phillips (Orlando, Fla.) 63-62 after trailing by 12 at halftime. In a game they trailed for over 25 minutes, the Charging Wildcats were able to overcome 16 turnovers by shooting 65 percent from the field.
The other first round contests on day two featured a trio of top 10 teams from the National Top 20 as Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) defeated Berkmar (Lilburn, Ga.) 76-51, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) took down Ballard (Louisville, Ky.) 75-61 and Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) blew by Newman (Louisiana) 82-48.
Three of the four quarterfinal contests were decided in lopsided
fashion as Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) throttled Orlando
Christian Prep (Orlando, Fla.) 75-34, Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson,
Va.) routed Whitney Young (Chicago) 97-67 and IMG Academy (Bradenton,
Fla.) defeated No. 10 in MaxPreps Top 25 — North Little Rock (Ark.)
80-59.
The other quarterfinal came down to the
wire as Milton (Ga.) upset the No. 5 ranked team in MaxPreps Top 25 —
Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 67-62 in a
back-and-forth affair that saw things tied up eight times with 11 lead
changes.
Day One Standouts
Cameron Boozer (Columbus) — 12 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, four blocks
Cayden Boozer (Columbus) — 21 points, six rebounds, three assists
A.J. Brown (Orlando Christian Prep) — 24 points, eight rebounds
Kanaan Carlyle (Milton) — 20 points, seven rebounds, five steals, three assists
John Gamble (Charlotte) — 20 points, eight rebounds, three steals
Gregg Glenn (Calvary Christian Academy) — 18 points, 10 rebounds, three assists
Marcus Pigram (Whitney Young) — 19 points, four rebounds, three assists
Day Two Standouts
Keyonte George (IMG Academy) — 24 points, four rebounds, four steals
Jeremy Gregory (Oak Hill Academy) — 20 points, 13 rebounds, three assists
Karter Knox (Tampa Catholic) — 25 points, eight rebounds, three blocks
Riley Kugel (Dr. Phillips) — 24 points, four rebounds, four steals
Corey Washington (North Little Rock) — 17 points, five assists, three rebounds
Day Three Standouts
A.J. Casey (Whitney Young) — 20 points, seven rebounds
Mookie Cook (AZ Compass Prep) — 10 points, five rebounds, four steals
Romad Dean (Crestwood Prep) — 29 points, 12 rebounds
Judah Mintz (Oak Hill Academy) — 22 points. three assists, three rebounds
A.J. Smith (Combine Academy) — 16 points, five rebounds, three assists
Day Four Standouts
Eddrin Bronson (Tampa Catholic) — 23 points, five rebounds, three assists
Eric Dailey (IMG Academy) — 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists
Hansel Emmanuel (Life Christian Academy) — 16 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks
Riley Kugel (Dr. Phillips) — 20 points, seven rebounds
Dariq Whitehead (Montverde Academy) — 18 points, four rebounds, four assists
Kel'el Ware (North Little Rock) — 22 points, 18 rebounds
Day Five Standouts
Denzel Aberdeen (Dr. Phillips) — 23 points, six assists, four rebounds
A.J. Casey (Whitney Young) — 25 points, eight rebounds, six assists
Keyonte George (IMG Academy) — 24 points, nine rebounds
Taylor Hendricks (Calvary Christian Academy) — 21 points, five rebounds, four steals
Chris Livingston (Oak Hill Academy) — 22 points, seven rebounds
Nick Smith (North Little Rock) — 30 points, five assists, three rebounds
Dariq Whitehead (Montverde Academy) — 23 points, four rebounds
Check back throughout the City of Palms Classic for score updates, game recaps and top performers throughout the six-day event. Scoreboard matchups will be updated following the conclusion of games each day.
Friday, Dec. 17
Saturday, Dec. 18
Sunday, Dec. 19
Monday, Dec. 20
Tuesday, Dec. 21
Wednesday, Dec. 22
*Indicates team is apart of National Top 20 Rankings
