Multiple league teams braved the wintry elements in Quincy, Illinois and Wichita, Kansas to do battle at the Quincy Shootout and the Air Capitol Hoopfest.
By the time the weekend was over new revelations were discovered as league play heated up down the stretch.
No. 12 Wasatch Academy picked up where it left off last weekend, rolling to an impressive 75-48 win over No. 4 CIA Bella Vista Prep. Junior County, a Connecticut signee, was stellar for the Tigers in the win, scoring 24 points and grabbing four rebounds.
The Tigers made the most of their opportunities, scoring 28 second-chance points and posting 41 points in the paint.
It was the second weekend in a row that Wasatch came out unscathed.
Before the lopsided loss, CIA Bella Vista Prep opened with a dominant win 74-36 win over Iowa United Prep. Paul Osaruyi led four players in double figures with 12 points and the Bears poured in 39 second-chance points in the win.
Bears coach DJ Wright said while he tips his hat to the Tigers on the win, he’s searching for consistency with his team.
“I feel like we are in a place where we are up and down as a team,” Wright said. “We’re having a hard time understanding that last year we were the hunters and this year we are the hunted. We have a really good group of guys that will figure it out but have to be more connected as a unit. Once we find a way to connect as a unit consistently game-by-game, we will go from good to great.”
No. 18 Faith Family Academy looked great in its 75-52 win over Utah Prep, as did Sunrise Christian Academy in its 71-46 win over Veritas Academy.
Iowa United escaped with 54-52 win over Utah Prep to close out the weekend.
No. 8 Montverde Academy certainly looked the dominant part, reeling off two impressive wins, first knocking off Sunrise Christian 82-65 and then taking down Veritas Academy 81-55.
The Eagles boasted five players in double figures in the first win and were one point away from duplicating that feat in their second win.
“The way we got it done is playing together,” Montverde coach Steve Turner said. “We’re sharing the ball and playing for each other. Our biggest motto is defend, defend, defend! We’re building and we’re doing it brick-by-brick. The guys are trusting more and as we continue to grow, I think we’ve got a chance to build momentum as we get to the ultimate goal which is the EYBL Scholastic tournament.”
Here’s a rundown of how teams fared over the weekend:
Montverde Academy 2-0
Wasatch Academy 1-0
Dream City Christian 1-0
Faith Faily Academy 1-0
Sunrise Christian Academy 1-1
Iowa United Prep 1-1
CIA Bella Vista Prep 1-1
Veritas Academy 0-3
Utah Prep 0-2
Currently, 9 teams are ranked in the ESPN SCNext High School Top 25 for Week 9:
1. SPIRE Academy
4. AZ Compass Prep
5. CIA Bella Vista
7. Link Academy
8. Montverde Academy
10. Brewster Academy
12. Wasatch Academy
13. La Lumiere School
18. Faith Family Academy
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