U-School no match for Montverde in final

MIDDLE VILLAGE, N.Y. — University School’s run at a first national championship came up short Saturday in a 76-58 loss to national No. 1 Montverde Academy

Montverde canned 11 3-pointers — eight in the second half — to run away from the Sharks in the allFlorida final at the 2018 GEICO High School Basketball Nationals at Christ the King Regional High.

Montverde (35-0) won its record fourth GEICO Nationals title in the 10-year history of the event. FHSAA Class 5A state champion University School, which came into the tournament ranked as high as No. 2 by USA Today, finishes the season 33-2.

“We had a great season,” University School coach Adrian Sosa said. “Going from unranked [at the beginning of the season], to City of Palms champions, John Wall [Invitational] champions, winning the state title. The way we won the state title — 75-point margin in two games. And then coming here and knocking off two powerhouse programs [Shadow Mountain and Oak Hill Academy].

“These guys, they left it all on the floor today. They were a better team.”

National Player of the Year R.J. Barrett, a Duke signee, led Montverde with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Barrett was named the MVP of the tournament.

Georgia Tech signee Michael Devoe drilled five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points, Filip Petrusev (Gonzaga) added 15 points and former U-School 7-foot-1 center Balsa Koprivica had 9 rebounds. Montverde shot 31 of 61 from the field, including 11-of-24 shooting from 3-point range.

“This is the cherry on top of everything that has happened during my high school career and it means a lot,” said Barrett, who was 11 of 23 from the floor.

Sophomore Scottie Barnes led University School with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Junior AllAmerican Vernon Carey Jr. struggled, hitting just 5 of 16 field-goal attempts to finish with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

University School was 24 of 61 from the field and 4 of 12 from 3-point land.

“I started out, I was like struggling,” said the 6-10 Carey, considered one of the top two prospects in the 2019 class. “I was struggling the whole game.”

“I think they did a good job [on Vernon],” Sosa added. “Every time Vernon touched the ball he’d have all five guys in his sight, clogging the lane up. And even in the post, on the catch they were double- and triple-teaming.”

Montverde’s previous three national titles were from 2013-2015. Joining Barrett on the all-tournament team were Montverde guard Andrew Nembhard, Carey, Barnes and Lone Peak (Utah) guard Steven Ashworth.

University School jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but Montverde finished the first quarter on a 14-4 run to grab a 14-10 advantage. The Eagles built their lead to nine, going up 35-26 at the half. It was the third quarter where Montverde pulled away from the Sharks.

Four different Montverde players connected on 3-pointers in the first 4:17 of the third quarter to grab a 51-37 lead. Karrington Davis’ 3-pointer in the fourth quarter gave the Eagles their biggest lead, 70-44.

Montverde has made the finals of the GEICO Nationals seven of the last nine years.