The twentieth annual Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament (MAIT) is now in the books, and it was a great weekend of basketball with high level high school basketball teams from across the country converging into Montverde, Florida for a weekend of competition. The boys' basketball team won all three of its games to win the championship, while the girls earned a pair of wins in their one-off games in conjunction with the tournament. Below is a recap of each of the 10 games played over the three day affair. Most recaps were written by MVA students in Sports Media class.
*** Game statistics provided by Legit Stats
Game 1: Riviera Prep defeated Durango 68-50
Article written by Sports Media students Ricardo Lopez Valenzuela & Andrew Gerges
With the help of Dante Allen with 18 points,15 rebounds and eighth assists, Rivera Prep defeated Durango 68-50 in the tournament opener on Thursday afternoon.
Joachim Ametepe-Radcliffe and Myles Fuentes combined for 29 points, with Fuentes scoring 16 points and Ametepe-Radcliff adding 13 to further help Riviera Prep.
Tylen Riley was the principal score leader for Durango with 17 points.
Rivera Prep held a 40-26 advantage on points in the paint.
Game 2: Montverde Academy defeated Riverview 69-50 (girls)
Article written by Sports Information Manager and Sports Media Instructor Mr. Michael Damon
Behind a 34-0 advantage on points off the bench and opening the game on a 17-5 lead in the first quarter, the Montverde Academy girls' basketball team defeated Riverview High School 69-50 in day one of the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament (MAIT) on Thursday afternoon in the Nest.
The Eagles led from start to finish, and after opening the game by outscoring the opponent 17-5 in the first quarter, MVA used a 27-9 advantage in the second quarter to take a 44-14 lead by halftime.
MVA then coasted in the second half, with the second unit seeing the majority of time on the floor.
The Eagles were led by Sahnya Jah with 11 points and five rebounds, while Mjracle Sheppard scored 10 points and had team-highs of six assists and 12 steals. Vivian Iwuchukwu led the charge off the bench with 10 points and five rebounds, while Minoka Yoshida scored eight points.
MVA held a 40-30 advantage on points in the paint and a 28-10 advantage on fast break points.
Riverview was led by Sami Slusarek with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds.
MVA is now 22-1 overall this season.
Game 3: Montverde Academy defeated Westminster Academy 85-53
Article written by Sports Information Manager and Sports Media Instructor Mr. Michael Damon
Three players scored in double figures for the Eagles as the Montverde Academy boys' basketball team defeated Westminster Academy 85-53 in day one of the 2023 Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament (MAIT) on Thursday evening.
Kwame Evans scored a team-high 14 points, while Liam McNeeley added 13 and Asa Newell knocked in 11 for the Eagles, who dominated Westminster in multiple facets of the game. MVA held an overwhelming 60-24 advantage on points in the paint, a 19-4 advantage in points off turnovers, 21-6 advantage in second chance points and a 24-8 advantage in fast break points.
The Eagles never trailed in the contest. They opened the game outscoring Westminster 20-4 in the first quarter, before owning a 26-16 second quarter margin to lead 46-20 by halftime.
Evans and McNeeley, along with Cooper Flagg had a team tri-high of eight rebounds each.
Chris Johnson and Derik Queen led the Eagles with a team co-high five assists.
Game 4: Durango defeated Westminster Academy 66-61
Article written by Sports Media students Andrew Chehansky & Kyle Johnson
Led by Tylen Riley who had a game high 24 points, a team high nine rebounds, along with five assists and four steals, Durango defeated Westminster Academy 66-61 on Friday afternoon in a loser's bracket game.
Westminster Academy stayed in the game thanks to great play by DJ Wembley who had a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds. Teammate Jaylen Carey added 13 points and nine rebounds for Westminster Academy
The game had 11 lead changes showcasing a back-and-forth game.
Westminster Academy held a 40-30 advantage on points in the paint.
Game 5: St. Rita defeated Riviera Prep 54-50
Article written by Sports Media students Miguel Barbosa & Matthew Pardieck
Nojus Indeusairis had 19 points leading St.Rita to defeat Riviera Prep 54-50 Friday afternoon at the MAIT event at Montverde Academy's Nest.
Dante Allen had an amazing performance with 14 points and seven rebounds for Riviera Prep in a losing effort, while Cooper Allen scored 11 points for Riviera Prep.
St. Rita went 6-for-10 from behind the three point line, with Nojus Indrusatis making 3-of-5.
Game 6: Montverde Academy defeated Owyhee 76-40
Article written by Sports Information Manager and Sports Media Instructor Mr. Michael Damon
Montverde Academy held advantages of 54-10 on points in the paint, 18-4 on second chance points and 39-24 on rebounding to overwhelm its opponent as the Eagles defeated Owyhee High School 76-40 in day two of the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament (MAIT) Friday evening in the Nest.
After a close game in the first half that saw the Eagles holding a 32-24 lead, MVA dominated in the third quarter to take what was a close game into a runaway.
MVA outscored Owyhee 28-8 in the pivotal third quarter to take a 60-32 after three periods. Overall the Eagles outscored Owyhee 44-16 in the second half.
Sean Stewart scored a team-high 18 points to go along with five rebounds, while Derik Queen led the domination off the bench with 15 points. Overall, MVA held a 35-5 advantage on points off the bench.
Kwame Evans had 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots for the Eagles. Chris Johnson had seven assists.
Owyhee was led by Liam Campbell with 20 points and six rebounds.
Game 7: Riviera Prep defeated Westminster Academy 68-59
Article written by Sports Media students Keira Casey & Jana Huet
Dante Allen of Riviera Prep had a game high of 29 points including 5-of- 8 on 3-pointers as Riviera Prep won against Westminster Academy 68-59 Saturday afternoon in the Nest.
Teammate Myles Fuentes added 17 points, and center Gustavo Guimaraes helped the team with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Even though Westminister couldn't bring in the win, Jaylen Carey showed out with 21 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Carey had help from teammate Alex Constanza who had 13 points and nine rebounds.
Game 8: Owyhee defeated Durango 63-60 in overtime
Article written by Sports Media students Tyler Severs & Cadence Whitehouse
Liam Campbell scored 23 points and had eight rebounds to lead Owyhee to a 63-60 overtime win Saturday afternoon in a consolation game.
Jackson Rasmussen had 11 points and seven rebounds and Jayce Allen had a team high seven assists for Owyhee.
Durango had three double digit scorers, led by Tylen Riley with 17 points, Jevon Yapi with 12 points, and Taj Degourville had a great all around performance with 10 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
Durango outscored Owyhee 18-3 on points off turnovers. Durango also had 10 steals led by Jevon Yapi with three, while Owyhee, as a team, only had two steals total.
Durango held the largest lead of the game of seven points midway through the third quarter.
Owyhee minimized the deficit to three by the end of the third quarter. They would end up tying the game at 57 at the end of regulation. Owyhee before going on to finish the comeback with a three point win in overtime.
Game 9: Montverde Academy defeated Palm Bay 75-65 (girls)
Article written by Sports Information Manager and Sports Media Instructor Mr. Michael Damon
Four players scored in double figures for the Eagles on Saturday afternoon as the Montverde Academy girls' basketball team defeated Palm Bay High School 75-65 in the Nest to improve to 23-1 this season.
Rusne Augustinaite scored a team-high 20 points, including four three-point field goals, while Mjracle Sheppard scored 15 and had seven steals, six rebounds and four assists. Sahnya Jah added 14 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Vivian Iwuchukwu scored 14 points off the bench with six rebounds.
The Eagles held a 44-19 advantage on points in the paint and 15-8 on points off turnovers. MVA also outscored Palm Bay 17-0 on points off the bench and 12-0 on fastbreak points.
The Eagles fell behind early, and Palm Bay led by as much as six in the first quarter. The two teams went back and forth the rest of the way in the first quarter, and Palm Bay held a slim one-point lead at the end of the first quarter with the score 19-18.
MVA though outscored the visiting Pirates 25-13 in the second quarter and led the rest of the way.
The Eagles led by as much as 16 in the second half before winning by 10.
MVA shot 52 percent from the floor (28-for-54).
Palm Bay's Emma Risch led all scorers with 35 points in a losing cause.
Game 10: Montverde Academy defeated St. Rita 90-70
Article written by Sports Information Manager and Sports Media Instructor Mr. Michael Damon
The Montverde Academy boys' basketball team defeated St. Rita High School 90-70 in the championship game of the 20th annual Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament (MAIT) on Saturday evening in the Nest.
The Eagles were led by Liam McNeeley with a game-high 30 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Three other players, including Sean Stewart, Cooper Flagg and Kwame Evans also notched double figures with Stewart scoring 17, Flagg 11 and Evans 10. Fellow teammate Curtis Givens had a game-high nine assists in the win.
MVA got out of the gate quickly and led from start to finish. The Eagles led 28-13 after the first quarter and MVA was up 51-30 by halftime.
The Eagles strong presence helped them to a 48-32 advantage on points in the paint, and the depth of the MVA roster allowed the Eagles a 27-4 advantage on points off the bench.
MVA shot 54 percent from the field (34-for-63).
Morez Johnson had a double-double and led St. Rita with 22 points and 10 rebounds in a losing cause.
2023 MAIT Tournament MVP
Liam McNeeley (Montverde Academy)
2023 MAIT All-Tournament Team
Dante Allen (Riviera Prep)
Liam Campbell (Owyhee)
Kwame Evans (Montverde Academy)
Morez Johnson (St. Rita)
Tylen Riley (Durango)
Sean Stewart (Montverde Academy)
2023 MAIT Monster Dunk Jam Trophy
Cooper Flagg (Montverde Academy)
