Coming into the Western Maryland Classic, Link Academy coach Chad Myers had on goal in mind for the No. 7 Lions: Refocus.
After dropping close league games in the past couple of weeks, Myers felt a readjustment was just what his team needed to move forward, a sentiment shared by each of the five teams suiting up at Garrett College.
Myers’ Lions brought their goals to fruition, reeling off two straight wins.
In their opener the Lions pulled out a 63-59 squeaker over No. 13 La Lumiere by controlling the paint. Link posted 33 points in the lane and scored 19 second-chance points to secure the win.
Carlos Medlock Jr., a Michigan State signee, led the Lions with 17 points.
Link used the same formula in game two, knocking off CATS Academy 64-57 and posting 34 points in the paint. Medlock again led the Lions with 20 points in the win.
“We needed it after dropping a couple games here of late,” Myers said. “Just being able to get two wins is huge! We played four-straight top 15 teams, so I was happy with how we finished late game situations this weekend. It gives us confidence moving forward. This league is a grind it’s like being in a Power 4, so you can’t take any games off.”
No. 4 AZ Compass Prep was very present, flexing its dominance in 74-54 win over CATS Academy.
The Dragons posted 31 second-chance points and got 17 points off the bench in the win. DeMarcus Henry, ranked No. 18 overall in the SCNext 100, led four players in double figures with 17 points in the win.
Here’s a rundown of how teams fared over the weekend:
Link Academy 2-0
AZ Compass Prep 1-0
La Lumiere 1-1
Tennessee Collegiate Academy 0-1
CATS Academy 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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