Montverde (Fla.) Academy downs Oak Ridge (Fla.) to earn title berth at City of Palms Classic

Montverde Academy (Fla.) will try for its seventh City of Palms Classic championship on Monday after downing Oak Ridge (Fla.) 83-74 on Saturday night in the semifinals.

The Eagles were led four-star shooting guard and Florida commit CJ Ingram, who poured in 22 points on 8 of 10 shooting, along with Villanova signee Dante Allen, who added 20 of his own, hitting 7 of his 12 attempts from the field.

They now advance to Sunday’s championship game, where they’ll face the winner of IMG Academy (Fla.) and Columbus (Fla.), who are led by the nation’s No. 2 recruit Cameron Boozer.

Montverde trailed 22-21 after the first quarter on Saturday, struggling to contain an Oak Ridge offense that has been lighting up the scoreboard over the past few days. The Pioneers connected on 7 of their 12 attempts in the first frame, including five from behind the arc. Both teams were equally hot in the second quarter, heading into the half with a slim 41-39 lead for Oak Ridge.

Led by Ingram and Allen though, the Eagles stormed out of the gate in the second half, outscoring the Pioneers 23-10 in the third quarter. In addition to holding Oak Ridge to just 27 percent from the field, they scorched the nets, going 8-for-13 from the field and 3 of 8 from behind the arc. Montverde dominated the paint all night, outscoring Oak Ridge 46-28 in the paint and limiting their bench to just three points.

In addition to their two leading scorers, the Eagles also got 16 points from Trent Sisley and 10 from Hudson Greer. Despite turning the ball over 10 times, they led for more than 18 minutes and ultimately held on for the victory.

Eagles trying to get back to No. 1

After opening the season as one of the nation’s top teams, the Eagles fell to Brewster Academy (N.H.) last week, dropping them to No. 11 nationally in the On3 Composite High School Basketball Team Ranking.

After beating Archbishop Carroll (Pa.) on Wednesday and Oak Ridge on Saturday, the Eagles will have a chance to ascend back to the top of the rankings with a win in the championship on Monday. They will face either Columbus or IMG, both of whom rank as top 15 teams in the nation.

Top performers from Day Two of the City of Palms Classic can be found HERE.

The On3 Composite High School Basketball Team Ranking is a proprietary algorithm that compiles rankings listed in the public domain by respected High School media and data companies. It includes Massey, Max Preps, ESPN and SI, creating the industry’s most comprehensive and geographically balanced High School Team Ranking.