Windermere, Montverde stay unbeaten
A year ago The Master’s Academy thumped Windermere Prep 79-56 in boys basketball. And Lakers coach Brian Hoff said it felt more like a 30- or 40-point spanking.
“That was a deflating loss to a powerhouse program,” recalled Hoff, who was then a young first-year coach directing a young squad against the veteran Eagles in The City Beautiful Invitational tournament.
In a Thursday night rematch a Windermere Prep team that is still young turned the tables with a decisive 70-58 home win in a matchup of undefeated Class 3A district rivals. The Lakers, led by the play of 6-foot-9 Chinese import Fanbo Zeng on both ends of the court, took control late in the first quarter and improved to 7-0 on the season.
“I just told our guys this game wasn’t won tonight,” Hoff said after a post-game locker room huddle with his team. “Games like this are won in June and July when they’re working their tails off. I’m proud of my team.”
Zeng, a sophomore, triggered a balanced offense with 15 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. And he blocked 7 shots to lead a Lakers defense that shut down the Eagles (5-1) in key stretches of the game.
Junior guard Zavien Williams and 6-11 junior center Elijah Hulsewe each added 14 points in the win. Sparkplug point guard Jouldan Velez — Windermere Prep’s only senior starter — scored 9.
“Last year there was just no form of togetherness,” Williams said of the Lakers’ 10-17 season of 2018-19. “Now, everyone’s bought in. We’ve got guys on the bench getting all excited for us, and that motivates us even more.”
Master’s, a state runner-up two years ago and region finalist last season, played without its leading scorer, senior guard Andrew Thelwell. He suffered a strained achilles injury during practice on Monday and is expected to miss at least six games.
“You take away a guy who can get you 20, 25 points and go on the road it makes it really tough,” said Master’s coach Reggie Kohn. “They (Windermere Prep) played well. They made a ton of shots.”
Corey Sawyer scored a game-high 18 points for TMA. Conner Jones stepped up in Thelwell’s absence and added 16 points, including four 3-point shots made.
The Lakers host their six-game Windermere Prep Hoopfest on Saturday. They will play Tampa Sickles (3-0) in the nightcap.
Master’s will again go without Thelwell when it plays at Lake Howell on Friday night and at home against Jones on Monday night. to pass each test with ease so far this season.
The Eagles ranked No. 1 in the country by both USA Today and Maxpreps defeated 11th ranked DeMatha Catholic out of the D.C. area 76-56 on Thursday at Montverde in a game televised on ESPNU.
Dariq Whitehead and Scottie Barnes had 14 points and Cade Cunningham added 13. All three thunderous dunks, which sent a raucous crowd into a frenzy.
Montverde (6-0) set the tone with its energy on the defensive end. Barnes played the passing lanes, came up with rebounds in traffic and had multiple blocks.
His effort led to easy baskets on the offensive end.
The Eagles took a halftime locker room.
Montverde used a 13-0 run in the third 39-21 lead into the quarter to put the game away as the lead expanded to 66-35 after the third quarter.
DeMatha (5-2) was led by Earl Timberlake, a Miami commit. He had 15 points.
Montverde goes to Fort Myers to play in the City of Palms Classic next week. Their opening game in that prestigious national tournament is Thursday against Delaware’s preseason No. 1 ranked team, Sanford School.