2021 Games

by Christopher Lawlor FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Montverde (Fla.) Academy are the gold standard of high school basketball. That’s simply undisputable. When you capture a fifth GEICO High School Nationals championship in nine years that’s where the conversation begins. The Eagles added a ring for the thumb on Saturday afternoon following a 62-52 victory over second-seeded Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena on the campus of Florida SouthWestern State College. When Kevin Boyle was lured to the central Florida private school a decade ago from St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.,J.) his mandate was to…

by Christopher Lawlor FORT MYERS, Fla. – Perfection! To enter the GEICO High School National with an undefeated record is one thing but to emerge from the girls’ bracket with that unblemished mark puts a team in another stratosphere. Take a bow Westlake Lady Lions of Atlanta, Georgia, you’ve earned it. Better get used to it: 2021 GEICO Nationals Champions. Westlake earned the coveted moniker for the first time in program history Saturday morning after dispatching third-seeded Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.), 70-50, at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena. The game was decided in the second quarter when the Lady Lions…

by Christopher Lawlor FORT MYERS, Fla. – Caleb Houstan was relatively quiet for 31 minutes on Friday afternoon. The future Michigan man by way of Canada came to Montverde (Fla.) Academy for big-time game like this. The game, the season were on the line and there was little time to plan but the 6 foot 8 forward reacted in an instinctive way. Houston entered the fourth quarter with only three points but his final shot, a tip-in with 12 seconds left was difference when the Eagles avoided an upset-bid from fourth-seeded AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) during a pulsating 51-49…

by Christopher Lawlor FORT MYERS, Fla. – Kennedy Chandler showed he can flat-out dominate a game. Really, he can, and he did on Friday afternoon on high school basketball’s biggest stage. Just when Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) was headed to the exits, trailing by seven points in the fourth quarter, the future Tennessee Volunteer and McDonald’s All-American rose to the occasion. Chandler, a rising star from Memphis, Tenn., scored 11 of his game-high 25 points in the final quarter and the Buffaloes topped third-seeded IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), 70-63, in the semifinals of the GEICO High School Nationals…

by Christopher Lawlor FORT MYERS, Fla. – Here’s a trick question: Raven Johnson or Taniya Latson? Well, it’s who you choose or like picking you poison. Either way, you lose. With the Westlake (Atlanta, Ga.) backcourt operating on high octane it severely limits the opposition. Do you think fourth-seeded Fremont (Plain City, Utah) has seen this athleticism and quickness anywhere in Utah? Likely not. The Westlake guard tandem proved lethal, again, combining for 51, 14 rebounds and 13 assists Friday afternoon in a 64-54 win over the Silverwolves in the GEICO High School Nationals girls’ semifinal at Suncoast Credit Union…

by Christopher Lawlor FORT MYERS, Fla. – The great news for third-seeded Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) is a victory Friday at the GEICO High School Nationals girls’ semifinal. The Panthers survived overtime to knock off previously unbeaten Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.), 52-49, at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena. PVI’s Lee Volker sank two free throws with 21.7 seconds left in the extra session and after a timeout the Highlanders had a chance to tie but two missed three-point field goals, the second from Stefanie Ingram at the buzzer ended it. The second-seeded Highlanders (19-1) had their win streak spanning…

by Christopher Lawlor FORT MYERS, Fla. – Once Ty Ty Washington his rhythm it was over for Wasatch Academy (Mount Pleasant, Utah). Washington and his AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) teammates were unsettled in the first half and into the third quarter but that’s when Washington carried his team on Thursday evening to a 59-54 victory over the fifth-seeded Tigers at the GEICO High School Nationals quarterfinals In the Suncoast Credit Union Arena. The 6 foot 3 senior guard manufactured a double-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. The Dragons outscored the Utah school by 12 points (29-17)…

by Christopher Lawlor FORT MYERS, Fla. – Sean McAloon had a quick message for his IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) players: We are chasing a title as reigning GEICO champions. True, the Ascenders are the reigning champions and desire for another title was on full display Thursday afternoon in the 12th annual GEICO High School Nationals quarterfinals. Since there was no GEICO Nationals played in 2020, the Ascenders entered this year’ tournament as the defending champions after beating La Lumiere School (La Porte, Ind.), 66-55, on April 4, 2019 in the final. And that meant an early trip home for sixth-seeded…

by Christopher Lawlor FORT MYERS, Fla. – Maybe there will be more of a test on Friday afternoon for top-seeded Montverde (Fla.) Academy. The Eagles didn’t get on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the GEICO High School Nationals. The blowout wins are usually reserved for cupcakes on the Montverde’s busy early schedule. But in April? And at a tournament they have won four times? Hardly. Yet that was case when the Eagles hammered Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), 85-64, in the Suncoast Credit Union Arena. Once the game progressed into the second half it was apparent the Eagles…

by Christopher Lawlor FORT MYERS, Fla. – Kendall Brown and Kennedy Chandler are McDonald’s All Americans for a reason and it starts on defense. Sure, two of the nation’s top players, both headed to high-major programs in Power-5 conferences, can score the basketball but what about when the game is one the line? Well, the dynamite dup of Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) came to the rescue late in the fourth quarter when the Buffaloes season was headed home. Key defensive stops led to a scintillating 56-55 thriller over seventh-seeded Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) Thursday in the quarterfinal round…