The dawning of a new year solidified a legitimate contender for the Nike EYBL Scholastic crown and beyond while others succumbed to the full brunt of the competition as league teams tangled at the Nike Tournament of Champions Hoophall West over the weekend.
Fresh off a title run at the Beach Ball Classic in South Carolina, CIA Bella Vista Prep was all the rage in Arizona, snagging its marquee win of the season thus far in game one, knocking off then No. 3 Link Academy, 64-56.
The Bears put on a 3-point shooting clinic, connecting on 7 of 13 (58.3 percent) from the perimeter led by junior guard Rokiem Green, who accounted for 4 of 5 threes and scored 14 points in the win. Miles Sadler ran the offense like a seasoned quarterback, posting 15 points, five assists, two steals and two rebounds in the win.
Perhaps even more impressive was their focus in game two, shaking off heightened emotions less than 24 hours later to turn in another Top 25 win, rolling past then No. 19 AZ Compass Prep, 53-40.
The Bears were plus-12 in the paint, scored 10 points off 10 turnovers and managed 11 second-chance points in the defensive duel. Aginaldo Neto came up big for the Bears at the point in the win, posting 12 timely points in a game where buckets were hard to come by.
“We knew that this was the weekend where we could really show the country and everyone who we really are; playing against two ranked teams,” Sadler said. “The mindset for us now is to keep our foot on the gas and continue to stack wins for Chipotle Nationals. We know we’re more than capable and now everyone else knows, so the work is only going to be more intense. That’s the way we like it.”
Still, while the Bears were ascending, Link struggled to gel with massive depletions to the roster due to injury and sickness.
Davion Hannah, an Alabama signee, was out with the flu; John Clark, a Texas signee, remains sidelined with a finger injury and Trent Perry got hurt early in the loss to Wasatch Academy.
That said, Link coach Chad Myers pointed to the Lions turnovers as the ultimate culprit for the 0-2 weekend out west.
Link averaged 16.5 turnovers a game at Hoophall West, the most this season over a two-game period.
“That was the most disappointing thing, those turnovers,” Myers said. “We’d done a really good job with that all season, but that really plagued us down the stretch in both games. But no excuses, both of those teams played really well and deserved to win the games. We just have to regroup, refocus and get healthy.”
Myers said he expects everyone, with the potential exception of Clark, to be back healthy when the Lions face No. 1 IMG Academy on Saturday.
Wasatch had a similarly dismal start at Hoophall West, dropping, 60-52, to AZ Compass, but managed to bounce back, rolling in a, 70-55, win over Link.
Isiah Harwell, a Houston signee, had a stellar all-around game for the Tigers, posting 19 points, seven assists and five rebounds in the win.
The Dragons got a strong game from junior guard Kalek House in their win over Wasatch, posting 22 points, four rebounds, three assists and six steals.
Here’s a quick glance of how it all shook out this weekend:
- CIA Bella Vista Prep 2-0
- Wasatch Academy 1-1
- AZ Compass Prep 1-1
- Link Academy 0-2
As it stands, IMG Academy and Bella Vista Prep are the only remaining undefeated teams in league play.
Currently, 11 teams are ranked in the ESPN SCNext High School Top 25 for Week 7:
1. IMG Academy
5. Montverde Academy
7. Brewster Academy
12. CIA Bella Vista
13. Link Academy
16. Sunrise Christian Academy
17. Long Island Lutheran
18. AZ Compass Prep
20. La Lumiere School
23. Wasatch Academy
25. Oak Hill Academy
Now, all eyes turn to Indiana, where league teams will duke-it-out at the La Porte Invitational from January 9-11.
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