High School

Look: Ace Bailey, nation's No. 2 prospect, drills tough game-winner at Bass Pro Shop Tournament of Champions

Five-star Rutgers commit finishes with 31 points, 16 rebounds to complete comeback win

Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports

Ace Bailey called game. The nation's No. 2 overall prospect rose up and hit a baseline jumper in the face of two contesting defenders to life nationally ranked McEachern (Georgia) to a 61-59 win over Edmond North (10-2) on Saturday in Springfield, Missouri. 

The 6-foot-9, 210-pound senior forward, who is committed to Rutgers, finished with 31 points, 16 rebounds and three 3-pointers and played all 32 minutes to secure third place in the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions, a popular long-running elite high school basketball showcase. 

Watch the shot for yourself:

McEachern three-star point guard Jaye Nash also chipped in 15 points. 

With the win, McEachern, the No. 25 ranked team in the nation (SBLive/SI), moves to 13-4 on the season and sets up an intriguing Power 25 matchup against No. 16 Harvard Westlake (California) on Monday at HoopHall in Springfield, Massachusetts. That game will be televised on ESPNU.

A reported 9,910 attendees were counted at the event's championship Saturday. 

Bailey, the nation's No. 2 prospect and No. 1 small forward in 2024 (Rivals), has been tremendous all year. He had 41 points and 26 rebounds in a win over Pebblebrook (Georgia) in December, a 19 and 13 outing on Jan. 7 and a 30-point game Thursday at Bass Pro Shops TOC. 

He was announced this week as one of the USA Basketball selections in the prestigious Nike Hoop Summit in April. 

Check back for more coverage from SBLive Missouri and follow SBLive's Nate Latsch (@NateLatsch) on Twitter/X for the latest:

-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivesports

Lead photo by Nate Latsch.

Published
Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports
ANDY BUHLER, SBLIVE SPORTS

Andy Buhler is a Regional Editor of Texas and the national breaking news desk. He brings more than five years of experience covering high school sports across the state of Washington and beyond, where he covered the likes of Paolo Banchero and Tari Eason served on state tournament seeding committees. He works on the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings. He has covered everything from the Final Four, MLS in Atlanta to local velodrome before diving into the world of preps. His bylines can be found in The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), The Associated Press, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), The Oregonian and more. He holds a degree from Gonzaga and is based out of Portland, Oregon.

Home/News