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Montverde Academy (Fla.) punches first ticket to City of Palms Classic semifinals

hunterby:Hunter Shelton•12/20/24•

HunterShelton_

Syndication: Naples Daily News
The Montverde Academy Eagles compete against the Archbishop Carroll Patriots in the first round of the 51st annual City of Palms Classic at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Fla., on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. Montverde Academy won 96-77.

The first of four quarterfinals at the 2024 City of Palms Classic took place on Thursday night, as Montverde Academy (Fla.) took on Millennium (Ariz.).

A back-and-forth affair saw the in-state Eagles pull out a gritty 68-63 victory, punching the first ticket to the tournament semifinals. Montverde had four players in double figures, led by shooting guard CJ Ingram, who had 17 points to go with 12 rebounds.

The Eagles led for nearly 26 minutes of game time, though Millennium took a 31-29 lead into halftime. The game featured 12 lead changes and seven ties. Montverde won the battle in the paint 36-26 and also won the turnover battle, forcing 18 turnovers while committing just 12.

Behind Ingram, shooting guard Hudson Greer and small forward Trent Sisley each had 10 points and seven rebounds. Shooting guard Dante Allen added 12 points and four boards. Montverde shot 45.5 percent from the floor and made seven 3-pointers in the win.

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

Millennium battled with just six players taking the floor. Junior small forward Cameron Holmes compiled 27 points on 8-21 shooting while also racking up 10 rebounds, three steals and two assists. Senior power forward Kingston Tosi notched 18 points, 10 rebounds and a pair of assists.

Montverde opened the tournament with a 96-77 win over Archbishop Carroll (Pa.) on Wednesday night. The Eagles are currently 7-1 and rank No. 11 in the nation and No. 3 in the state of Florida, according to the On3 Composite Rankings.

Three City of Palms quarterfinals tip on Friday night

Montverde now awaits the winner of Owasso (Okla.) and No. 7 Oak Ridge (Fla.), who are set to square off in the first of three quarterfinal bouts on Friday night.

On the other side of the bracket, a top-10 national matchup highlights the festivities, as No. 1 Grayson (Ga.) and No. 6 Columbus (Fla.) are set to square off. The other quarterfinal features No. 15 IMG Academy (Fla.) and No. 20 La Lumiere (Ind.).

Both semifinals will tip off on Saturday night. The championship game is set to tip off on Monday night at 8:30 p.m. ET.

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.

More about the City of Palms Classic

A brief history on the City of Palms Classic from the tournament website:

“In December 1973, the City of Palms Classic began, like so many events, as a simple, local Christmas basketball tournament — the brainchild of legendary Edison Community College head coach Hugh Thimlar and a small group of high school coaches and administrators. Over the years, the “City of Palms Classic” (named by Donnie Wilkie in 1987) has grown and expanded its scope to include many of the nation’s finest players and teams, setting the standard during the past four decades by which all other holiday basketball tournaments are compared.”