Montverde rolls past Chicago St. Rita Catholic
Eagles win MAIT title, extend win streak to 11
MONTVERDE — If momentum means anything, Montverde Academy could soar a long way this boys basketball season.
Behind the red-hot play of tournament Most Valuable Player Liam McNeeley, who scored a game-high 30 points and hauled down 8 rebounds, Montverde overpowered Chicago St. Rita Catholic 90-70 on Saturday night in the championship game of the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament at The Nest.
In winning its 11th consecutive game, Montverde ran its record to 19-2. The Eagles have not lost since falling to Mount St. Joseph of Baltimore 56-55 on Dec. 21.
“We’re on a roll right now,” said McNeeley, who scored 15 points in the first quarter as the Eagles built a 28-13 lead. “We’re playing together. We’re moving the ball. I’m just really proud of the team and my teammates and how we’ve been playing.”
The 6-foot-7 junior forward scored six of the game’s first eight points as Montverde used a suffocating press to take an 8-0 lead, sending the home crowd into a frenzy. McNeeley converted a three-point play with 3:59 left in the first quarter to push the Eagles ahead 16-6 and the rout was on.
Montverde led 51-30 at halftime and 72-48 at the end of the third quarter. The Eagles shot 54% for the game, scoring 22 points off turnovers.
“I thought we had a great first half,” Montverde coach Kevin Boyle said. “We were energized, played really great defense. Liam and Cooper [Flagg] were super in the first half.”
Flagg, a 6-8 sophomore wing, had 7 of his 11 points in the first quarter. He also had 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals.
Senior Sean Stewart, a Duke signee, had 17 points and 7 rebounds while senior KJ Evans, a 6-9 wing headed for Oregon, added 10 points, 4 assists and 4 steals for the Eagles.
Four players scored in double figures for St. Rita, led by Illinois-bound Morez Johnson, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Nojus Indrusaitis added 18 points while Nashawn Holmes had 11 points plus 5 assists and Melvin Bell added 10 points for St. Rita.
Montverde’s girls team (23-1), ranked No. 1 in Florida and No. 2 nationally by MaxPreps, used a 15-3 run second-quarter run and some tenacious second-half defense to hold off Palm Bay 75-65.
Vivian Iwuchukwu scored 9 of her 14 points during the run for the Eagles, who won their closest home game of the season.
Palm Bay, which finished as Class 6A state runner-up in 2021, used a spectacular perimeter game to give Montverde everything it could handle. The Pirates were 13 of 21 from the 3-point line.
Emma Risch, who scored a game-high 35 points and added 4 rebounds and 5 assists, sank nine 3-pointers to keep Palm Bay in it until the end.
Her last 3-pointer with about 1 minute left cut Montverde’s lead to 71-65. But then Cori Allen sank a pair of free throws and Mjracle Sheppard hit a bucket to ice the win for the Eagles.
Rusne Augustinaite had a teamhigh 20 points and 3 rebounds for Montverde. Sheppard added 15 points, 6 rebounds and 7 steals while Sahnya Jah had 14 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the Eagles.
Palm Bay’s Alonya Waldon had 11 points and Kiara Williams tallied 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.