MAIT Boys Basketball quarterfinals recap: Montverde Academy blows by Imani Christian

The Eagles led the Saints 70-23 at halftime and never trailed

MONTVERDE, FLORIDA– Montverde Academy (Florida), the No. 1 team in the latest SBLive/Sports Illustrated Boys Basketball Power 25 national rankings, was in action, Thursday evening, for an opening round battle with Imani Christian (Pennsylvania) in the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament (MAIT). 

Let’s just say the Eagles made sure to let everyone know who’s the top team in the land with an exclamation point. 

Montverde Academy never trailed in the quarterfinal matchup, rolling to a dominating 127-40 victory over Imani Christian. The Eagles will face Oak Ridge tomorrow in the MAIT semifinals. 

MAIT schedule: 6 McDonald’s All-Americans, 3 Top 25 teams featured in high school basketball tournament

In what looked like somewhat of a mismatch before the game ever got going, the Eagles had themselves a fun night of dunks galore. 

Duke commitment Cooper Flagg was sensational for the Eagles, wowing the crowd with an off-the-backboard dunk. The McDonald’s All-American wasn’t alone when it came to scoring the basketball, however. 

Off the backboard alley-oop catch from the baseline is CRAZY 😲@MVABasketball Invitational Tournament LIVE on the NBA App!

📲 https://t.co/54MwdCVWUk pic.twitter.com/l66ygdJn1o

— NBA Future Starts Now (@nbafuturenow) January 26, 2024

By intermission, the Eagles had a commanding 70-23 lead and never looked back. Lucas Lima led all Eagles in scoring with 21 points on the night. 

In the semifinal before Montverde-Imani, Oak Ridge would face The Rock School (Gainesville, Florida) in a tightly contested tilt. It would be the Pioneers coming out on top 78-64, with Oak Ridge moving on to face Montverde Academy in the semifinals. 

The Pioneers would jump out all over the Lions in the opening quarter, leading 26-10. By halftime, Oak Ridge held a 40-24 lead kept the double-digit advantage for the remainder of the contest. 

Oak Ridge’s top scorer on the night would be 6-foot-6 Georgia Southern commitment Jordan Tillery, who scored a game-high 19 points. Fellow teammates Jalen Reece, Tyler Johnson chipped in 17 and 16 points, respectively. 

Leading the way for The Rock School in the scoring department was Evan Sterck, who posted 16 points and seven assists in the loss. 

The tournament features three national ranked teams, including host No. 1 Montverde and No. 4 Prolific Prep (California) and six McDonald's All-Americans. 

Friday’s semifinal matchups will be Prolific Prep taking on Brewster Academy (New Hampshire) and Montverde Academy against Oak Ridge. 

-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl 

---

Photo credits: Robson Lopes

Photo by Robson Lopes, SBLive Sports