Montverde Academy boys' basketball team, for an unprecedented ninth time since 2009, will play in the GEICO National championship game as the Eagles, the No. 3 seed, defeated No. 2 seed IMG Academy 62-57 in the semifinal round for the right to play in the championship game on Saturday.
The Eagles will now play the winner of the other semifinal round game between No.4 seed Link Academy (Mo.) and No. 8 seed Prolific Prep (Ca.) (that game is currently being played at the time of this release. Please check geicohoops.com or mvasports.com for the update later).
In Friday's win, the Eagles were led by the James Naismith High School Player of the Year, Dariq Whitehead with 21 points. Meanwhile fellow teammate Malik Reneau added 10 as the lone two players to score in double figures. The Eagles also got eight points each from Kwame Evans, Dillon Mitchell and Jalen Hood-Schifino. Mitchell had a game-high 13 rebounds, while Evans added 10. Hood-Schifino added a game-high eight assists in the win.
MVA held a 40-28 rebounding advantage, and a 38-24 difference on points in the paint. The Eagles shot 24-for-56 from the field for a 43 percent showing, while IMG Academy was limited to 40 percent from the floor behind a 21-for-52 ratio.
Saturday's championship game will be at noon and televised live on ESPN. Fans interested in attending the game at Sun Coast Arena in Fort Myers can purchase tickets at https://geicohoops.com/#tickets.
