The Montverde Academy boys' basketball team entered its twenty-seventh game of the regular season on Friday undefeated, having outscoring opponents by an average of 86.7 – 55.2, while taking on the nation's best this season.

Their Friday opponent was the No. 2 ranked team in the nation, Long Island Lutheran (LuHi), setting the stage for a showdown of national high school basketball supremacy.

Playing in front of a sold out crowd of just over 5,000 at Hofstra University's David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex in Hempstead, approximately 12 miles down the road from LuHi's Brookeville campus, MVA's opponent proved to be no match for the Eagles on this night.

Five players scored in double figures to lead MVA to its twenty-seventh win of the season as the MVA defeated the Crusaders 90-58 on day one of the 2024 Nike EYBL Scholastic Bob McKillop Invitational.

Liam McNeeley led the team with a game-high 21 points, while Cooper Flagg had 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Derik Queen had 16 points and nine rebounds, while Robert Wright added 11 points and had nine assists. Asa Newell came off the bench to score 12 points for the Eagles.

The Eagles led from start to finish. They were up 23-17 after the first quarter, before extending the lead to 47-30 by halftime. Then in the decisive third quarter, MVA out scored LuHi 20-11 to build a 67-41 lead after twenty-four minutes of basketball before coasting to victory during the fourth quarter.

The Eagles protected the ball well, committing just six turnovers to LuHi's 12, resulting in MVA holding a 13-4 advantage on points off turnovers.

MVA shot 59 percent (34-for-58) from the field in the win.

The Eagles are now 27-0 on the season and 9-0 in league play.

MVA will look for win twenty-eight on the season when it returns to action on Saturday for a game against Legacy Early College in day two of the Bob McKillop Invitational at 6:30 pm.