by Kevin Grogan
All the hype around the much-anticipated finale of the Montverde Academy 2020 MAIT (Montverde Invitational Tournament) once again did not disappoint. This was the home finale of the season for the Eagles who are the undefeated-undisputed #1 ranked team in all the USA. This roster is like no other! This stacked prep team is loaded with high school All-Americans. Most nights the real challenge isn’t the opponent. It is on Coach Kevin Boyle & staff, who are challenged with getting adequate playing time to showcase the exceptional talent for this very deep roster.
Tonight’s opponent was the New York State champion Long Island Lutheran (Luhi) ranked 22nd in the USA. The Eagles beat LuHi in all facets of the game on this night. The final was a 83-47 victory for the Eagles. The MVA squad improves to 22-0 & could quite possibly be the very BEST high school basketball team ever! Montverde easily beat Ft. Lauderdale’s Westminister Academy in the first round Thursday & then Friday it was Scotlandville Magnet out of Baton Rouge who kept it close with the Eagles for a half.
And if you haven’t been to a Montverde home game, this is an atmosphere like no other. While this writer has attended thousands of basketball games in my lifetime, the atmosphere here is like no other, complete with a jumbotron & laser light introduction. Did I mention this is high school basketball.
Back to the story. It did not take long for the Eagles to get things started. Day’Ron Sharpes opening tip to Cade Cunningham to Florida State signee Scott Barnes for a monster dunk. It seemed the Eagles capitalized on each & every possession as their lead doubled with each quarter from here on out.
From there, as if the powerful Day’Ron Sharpe’s inside game wasn’t strong enough, the outside shooting was on fire on this night. Caleb Houstan, Moses Moody, & Langston Love (team high 14 points) could not miss from deep. MVA is so loaded, the brilliant defender & shooter Langston Love, does not even start for MVA. Player after player would step up & knock down a three-point shot. It seemed to be contagious. The team man to man defense led to turn over after turnover. It seemed the Eagles capitalized on each & every possession as their lead doubled with each quarter.
Clermont Senior Jesse Jones was certainly the man of the evening though. The local legend & crowd favorite reserve came into the game early in the fourth quarter. The 6’3 defensive specialist hit one-then two-then three 3-pointers to electrify the crowd that was already chanting his name even before he checked into the game. On any other team in the State, Jones would be a starter. Jones finished with 9 points as his foot was on the stripe one of the shots.
Assistant Coach Rae Miller commented on the balanced team win, “Jesse Jones is the ultimate teammate. He is a hard worker, intelligent, and always prepared to step on the big stage. His excellence shows in everything he does just like it did tonight. And then Langston Love. He provides great energy on both ends of the floor for us with his toughness and determination.”
To tell you a little bit about what kind of night it was for the Eagles, the number one ranked player in the USA, Oklahoma State signee Cade Cunningham finished with 1 point on a single free throw with 4:30 to go in the third quarter. The team still won by 30+. With that kind of firepower, Cunningham, who led the Eagles in scoring the first two games, had the night off after struggling early with foul trouble. Just about every Eagle scored in this game (13 of 14 players).
As tradition Headmaster Kesselring gave the Montverde students the day off of school on Monday.
#NoSchoolMonday
Kevin Grogan is a contributing sportswriter for the. South Lake Tablet. Kevin and Kimberly are owners of Dash-Sports
