Eight league teams shook off the Thanksgiving rust to lace ‘em up at events in Duncanville, Texas and Las Vegas in hopes of staking an early claim at the top tier of the league.
By the end of the weekend, some league teams left their mark at the Thanksgiving Hoopfest and the Players Era, while others went back to the drawing board looking to regroup.
CIA Bella Vista Prep, which checks in at No. 12 overall in the SCNext 25, checked in as the former using its defensive pressure to reel off two impressive wins.
The Bears opened with a 70-59 win over No. 20 Oak Hill Academy, forcing 19 turnovers and snagging eight steals to stifle the Warriors. West Virginia signee Miles Sadler led all scorers with 24 points and eight assists in the win.
The Bears closed out their Vegas run with a relentless come-from-behind win over No. 8 SPIRE Academy, forcing 17 turnovers and scoring 28 points in the paint. Sadler again led the way with 19 points and eight assists in the win.
“Hanging out with my guys has really helped me keep a level head,” Sadler said. “It’s our first two games of the EYBL Scholastic season so I feel like we just had to come out with a bang. I feel like my speed helped carry our guys and encouraged us to play faster. When we play fast, we tend to win.”
No. 14 La Lumiere had a similar theme in its two wins: Playing close.
The Lakers sunk No. 25 Faith Family Academy 53-52 in their opener with a buzzer beating three-ball from Jacob Webber, a Purdue signee.
They followed that up with an impressive 73-70 win over Dream City Christian, using 23 second-chance points to overwhelm the Eagles. Jonathan Sanderson, a Notre Dame signee, led five players in double figures with 19 points in the win.
“I’m really proud of our group and being able to get two hard fought wins,” La Lumiere coach Patrick Holmes said. “Our guys battled to the final whistle and did a great job executing down the stretch. There are no easy games in our league, so being able to get off to a 2-0 start in league play is huge.”
Despite feeling the sting of defeat, some league teams managed wins to build on over the weekend.
Before its loss to Bella Vista, SPIRE opened with 75-67 win over Iowa United Prep. Aiden Derkack, a Providence signee, led five players in double figures with 17 points in the win.
Ethan Mgbako, a Vanderbilt commit, helped Oak Hill bounce back dropping 25 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals in a 79-62 win over Iowa United Prep, Dream City opened with a 71-56 win over St. James Academy, behind 21 points from Malachi Jordan, and Faith Family racked up two wins over St. James (60-53) and Dream City (88-58).
Here’s a quick glance of how it all shook out over the weekend:
La Lumiere School 2-0
CIA Bella Vista 2-0
Faith Family Academy 2-1
Oak Hill Academy 1-1
SPIRE Academy 1-1
Dream City Christian 1-2
Iowa United Prep 0-2
St. James Academy 0-2
Currently, 11 teams are ranked in the ESPN SCNext High School Top 25:
2. Link Academy
5. AZ Compass Prep
6. Brewster Academy
8. Spire Academy
10. Long Island Lutheran
11. Montverde Academy
12. CIA Bella Vista
14. La Lumiere School
20. Oak Hill Academy
21. Wasatch Academy
25. Faith Family Academy
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