Geico Nationals Day 2: Finals set, AZ Compass boys vs. Link; LuHi girls vs. Montverde
BOYS SEMIFINALS
AZ Compass 68, IMG 50
AZ Compass rebounded from a slow-shooting start and turned up its defensive intensity at the end to hand IMG Academy a loss in the first semifinal.
The Dragons (21-9) shot 3-for-18 (16.7 percent) in the first quarter when they fell behind by double digits. Despite a 7-0 run in the second quarter, AZ Compass trailed 29-24 at halftime.
In the second half, the Dragons shot 12-for-19 and made 14-of-16 free throws.
After AZ Compass scored the first basket of the game, IMG Academy reeled off the next nine points and maintained the advantage until late in the third quarter.
The Dragons had lost twice to IMG Academy during the regular season: 67-61 on Dec. 10 and 58-53 on Jan. 16, both in Bradenton.
Making their fifth appearance in the tournament, the Ascenders were searching for their second GEICO National title and first since 2019.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Featuring one of the deepest teams in the tournament, Roosevelt “Tru” Washington stood out on this day. The 6-foot-3 guard heading to New Mexico tallied 13 of his game-high 18 points in the second half, when AZ Compass outscored IMG Academy, 44-21, including 32-12 in the fourth quarter. Washington made 6-of-8 from the field and 5-of-6 from the foul line along with four rebounds, two assists, and a game-high seven steals, one more than the entire Ascenders’ team.
PLAY OF THE GAME: A 12-second sequence early in the fourth quarter tilted the momentum AZ Compass’ way. After IMG Academy’s Jamie Kaiser Jr. made a 3-pointer to give the Ascenders a 41-40 lead, Kaiser fouled 6-8 forward Trent Pierce making a 3-pointer and Pierce completed the four-point play to give the Dragons the lead for good. Pierce then committed a turnover leading to a tip-in by Washington and a 46-41 lead for AZ Compass.
RECRUIT WATCH: AZ Compass’ 6-7 wing Mookie Cook (Oregon) scored 11 points, Pierce (Missouri) tallied 12 points and pulled down a game-high seven rebounds, 6-2 guard Jordan Ross (St. Mary’s) scored 10 points. … Khani Rooths, the 42nd-ranked junior by ESPN, led IMG Academy in scoring with 12 points. Blue Cain, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer in the Ascenders’ opening round victory over Prolific Prep (California), shot 1-for-4 and finished with two points and six turnovers.
NOTEABLE: Former Sarasota Riverview High standout Ja’Mier Jones, a sophomore, gave IMG Academy an early boost with eight of the team’s first 17 points, all coming in seven minutes of playing time. Jones, a sophomore, finished with 10 points. … AZ Compass outrebounded the Ascenders, 31-22. … Again IMG Academy did not take good care of the ball, committing 18 turnovers. … The Ascenders were 4-for-13 from beyond the arc and shot 11-for-26 from the field in the final three quarters after hitting 6-of-9 from the floor in the first quarter.
QUOTABLE: Pierce on the Dragons’ slow start, “They’re a good defensive team and they were making us take some contested shots. Going into the second half we needed to change that, get better shots, take the ball to the rim. That’s when we started getting better shots.
Pierce on his 4-point play, “It was a great play. My teammate drove, kicked it out to me. I knew I was going to make the shot. We said on the play before we were going to run that play right for me and I was going to make that shot.”
IMG Academy coach Sean McAloon on AZ Compass, “Every game with them has been ebb and flow and really close. Maybe we could have made more shots or more plays, but they are the best defensive team in the league for a reason. We didn’t execute amazingly, but if you told me we were going to take a five-point lead at half, I would have taken it, just based on the first two games. We had a couple guys uncharacteristically not step up as well as they normally have. They put the 1-2-2 that we had trouble with yesterday and we practiced it again today and it just seemed like it froze us. We panicked a little offensively and coincidentally it affected us defensively. We lost our minds a little bit on some hedging and communication. It’s been our Achilles’ heel for the year. It falls on me. I’ve got to do a better job when it comes to our guys. They did a better job of executing.”
− Dennis Maffezzoli
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Link Academy 67, Sunrise Christian 61
Even with a 23-point lead in the first half, Link Academy head coach Bill Armstrong knew the sun wouldn't set so easily on Sunrise Christian.
Sure enough, after leading 39-25 at halftime, the Lions saw their lead gradually diminish. With 2:29 left in the game, Sunrise's Miro Little hit a 3-pointer to go up 62-61.
But the Lions didn't panic as that would be the last bucket in the game for the Buffaloes. Link Academy buckled down on defense, took smarter shots and forced a pair of turnovers in the game's final minutes.
It didn't matter if the team won by 6 or 36, Armstrong said. For a second consecutive year, Link Academy will play in the championship game at GEICO Nationals
PLAYER OF THE GAME: UNC commit Elliot Cadeau was often the one orchestrating the Lions' key runs, including a monstrous 27-10 first quarter. Displaying singular court vision, he posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists, plus two steals and a block.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Getting the next bucket after Sunrise Christian took the late fourth quarter lead proved crucial. With about 1:30 left in the contest, Tyler McKinley found Corey Chest Jr. for an alley-oop dunk to retake control of the game at 62-61.
RECRUIT WATCH: Sunrise Christian's Scotty Middleton, an Ohio State commit, was critical in the team's comeback bid, finishing the game with 22 points to lead all players. Link's Cameron Carr, bound for Tennnessee, scored 18 for the Lions, including a dunk and 3 made 3-pointers.
NOTABLE: Link Academy went 10-for-18 from beyond the arc with Cadeau scoring 4. ... The program has quickly established itself making back-to-back GEICO National finals in the first two years of the program. It is Armstrong's first season coaching the squad.
QUOTABLE: "They just decided that we're not going to lose this game and they locked down and got stop after stop down the stretch and made some big plays as well," Armstrong said.
On Cadeau, Armstrong said, "He's the engine that makes our whole thing go. When he's playing the way he did, we're hard to beat."
− Dustin Levy
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GIRLS SEMIFINALS
Long Island Lutheran 76, McDongh (Md.) 65
The Crusaders' size was too much for the Eagles to overcome in the first round of the Girls Bracket, as 6-foot-5 junior Kate Koval erupted for 38 points on 16-of-21 shooting with 16 boards.
The Eagles put up a valiant effort but had no answer for the chaos Koval caused down low. Her size allowed her to seal defenders with ease, and anytime McDonogh started to gain any momentum Koval was there to stop the bleeding.
Long Island Lutheran tallied 46 points in the paint, including 22 second-chance points. Despite the massive advantage down low, the Crusaders struggled to find their rhythm defensively.
The Eagles could’ve let the wheels fall off multiple times in the second half. Instead, they stayed engaged and never laid down. Ava McKennie led McDonogh with 17 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kate Koval scored six straight points midway through the third quarter, and tallied eight offensive boards. The Crusaders would’ve been in a much different boat without the star center. Now, the matchup is set between Koval and Montverde’s 6-foot-7 Baylor signee Lety Vasconcelos.
PLAY OF THE GAME: Koval reeled in her 16th board on a Crusader miss before putting it right back for points 37 and 38 midway through the fourth quarter. The putback gave LuHi a 12-point lead, a backbreaker that the Eagles weren’t able to overcome.
RECRUIT WATCH: Koval, a junior, is set to skyrocket up the rankings in her senior campaign after being selected as Gatorade’s New York Player of the Year, Nike’s Tournament of Champions MVP, and setting a new scoring record on the girls’ side of the Geico National tournament.
NOTEABLE: Koval is set to face off with Montverde’s Lety Vasconcelos in the championship game Saturday morning. After seeing limited action in Montverde’s win over Westtown, expect the both players to be ready to battle as Vasconcelos looks to set the record straight, and Koval looks to prove today’s win wasn’t a one-off performance.
QUOTABLE: “The mentality was just to dominate,” Koval said after the win. “I knew they didn’t have anyone that could guard me, anyone my size. I’m thankful to my teammates who recognized early that I had an advantage. They kept getting me the ball and I kept working.”
− Nick Wilson
Montverde 58, Westtown (Pa.) 51
Montverde escaped with a win over a short-handed Westtown squad. The Eagles’ strength and length were too much for the Moose, who started two eighth-graders, a sophomore, a junior, and a senior.
Montverde controlled the paint for most of the game. After entering halftime with a nine-point lead, Westtown battled back and closed the gap to three points with five minutes remaining.
Delaware signee Grace Sundback willed her squad to stay in the fight, but the Eagle’s size and experience were too much for the Moose to overcome.
On top of a disparity in size and experience, the Eagles benefitted from an incredible 22-9 free throw attempt advantage. Montverde shot 10 of their 22 free throws in the fourth quarter, with the Moose electing not to intentionally foul as time expired.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Illinois signee Cori Allen had an efficient game, scoring 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting along with 6 rebounds.
RECRUIT WATCH: On one of the biggest stages in high school basketball, against a perennial powerhouse, two eighth-graders took it to Montverde in Westtown’s loss. Jessie Moses and Jordyn Palmer combined for 26 points in the loss and didn’t look out of place against a loaded Montverde squad.
NOTEABLE: The Moose had a real shot at bringing down the defending champions. After starting the fourth quarter with a steal and back-to-back threes, the Eagles looked like they had lost all momentum. What followed was an onslaught of objectively iffy foul calls that allowed Montverde to regain their footing at the charity stripe. The Eagle’s ability to penetrate certainly expounded the Moose’ foul trouble, but what had been no-calls all game became late whistles that cost the Moose dearly.
QUOTABLE: “A physical team like [Westtown] who wants it more is going to give us their best shot,” Allen said after the win. “It’s going to get us ten times more ready for the next team.”
− Nick Wilson
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: GEICO Nationals 2023 boys and girls semifinal basketball game coverage
