Montverde plays Rancho Christian for MAIT title

Montverde’s Cade Cunningham handles the press provided by St. Louis’ Vashon. He also helped the Eagles secure a spot in the MAIT championship game against Rancho Christian.

By Robert Alfonso Jr.

MONTVERDE, FL – The game plan was simple for the fourth-ranked Montverde Academy basketball team. Get the ball inside, period.

The Eagles (16-2) executed it to near perfection as it advances to the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament championship game. Montverde beat St. Louis’ Vashon High 70-42.

Montverde plays California’s Rancho Christian (20-3) at 8 pm on Saturday.

“They didn’t have enough big guys, so we figured we could dominate inside-out,” McDonald’s All-American Precious Achiuwa.

The 6-foot–9 forward, from New York, and 6-foot-10 Balsa Koprivica, from Serbia, was just having their way inside. Both seniors shared opportunities to score inside, which also included several dunks. Achiuwa had 14 points and eight rebounds. Koprivica finished with 12 points.

On the perimeter, the Eagles had the size with Cade Cunningham running the point. The junior point guard was dominant at the point. At 6-foot-6, the Texas native controlled the pace of the game and helped execute the game plan from the opening tip. Cunningham finished with 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds.

“He gets assists, rebounds, he does everything he needs to do to help the team win,” said Koprivica, as the Eagles advance to the championship game. “If we play our A game, we should be fine.”

Rancho Christian 74, Wasatch 47: Establishing its presence inside was the theme of the night for Rancho Christian. Led in large part by Evan Mobley.

The seven-foot junior scored most of his team-high 20-points in the first-half to dominate Wasatch Academy. But he wasn’t the only Mobley the Utah squad had to stop. Older brother, Isaiah, who is committed to Southern California and is a McDonald’s All-American, poured in 17 points.

Wasatch Academy plays Vashon at 4 p.m.

Wasatch (21-1) was led by junior Richie Saunders team-high 12 points. Tristan Enaruna, a 6-foot-10 forward, finished with 10 points.

Miami Christian 85, The Villages 84: This was a matchup where neither team was willing to walk away without a fight.

Miami’s senior guard Algenis Quintana scored the go-ahead layup with less than four seconds left in the game. The Villages’ Tre Mann missed a final shot at the buzzer. This is when the Victors (14-8) stormed the court to celebrate. Incidental contact took place as the Miami players bumped into a Buffaloes player starting a brawl. Order was soon restored as both teams were soon escorted out of the building.

While Quintana was the hero for the Victors, it was Gonzalo Gonzalvo who was catalyst keeping them in the game. The 6-foot-1 senior guard finished with a team-high 27 points all from the three-point line. At one point in the third quarter, he knocked down five from the same corner. This helped the defending 2A state champions maintain its lead. Senior guard Diego Rivera had 24 points. Quintana contributed 21.

Mann, a McDonald’s All-American and a Florida signee, finished with a game-high 31 points. Senior forward Peyton Williams chipped in with 18 points.

The Villages will play fellow Westminster Academy from Ft. Lauderdale at noon. Miami Christian plays Long Island Lutheran at 2 p.m.

Long Island Lutheran 71, Westminster 61: Andre Curbelo was relentless against the Fort Lauderdale school.

The junior guard, from Puerto Rico, scored a team-high 20 points to beat Westminster. He also got help from fellow junior Jalen Celestine’s 15 points. senior Essam Mostafa and junior Zed Key chipped in with 10 points apiece.

Sam Griffin, a senior, finished with a game-high 35 points. Senior Sam Griffin, a Purdue-Fort Wayne signee, contributed with 15 points.

About the Author

Alfonso

Robert Alfonso Jr. is a graduate of Mount Sait Mary College. He has more than 20 years of journalism experience. Alfonso has helped build a basketball web brand in Georgia and has covered high school through college sports for publications in New York, North Carolina, and Georgia. His mission has always been to uplift the athletes who play sports providing them the exposure needed in this new media platform.