By CHARLIE PARENT
Coach Kevin Boyle and Montverde Academy (FL) are champions again.
Montverde defeated Link Academy (MO,) 60-49 in Fort Myers, Fla.,, to win their sixth GEICO National Championship
Duke commit Dariq Whitehead was once again the engine for this Montverde team. Despite a poor shooting day, the 6-foot-6 wing from Newark N.J., put up 14 points on 5-of-17 shooting and 6 assists in his final game of a five-year career at Montverde.
It’s been quite the week for Whitehead, who was named MVP of the McDonald’s All-American Game on Tuesday and then had 21 points in Montverde’s semifinal win over arch-rival IMG Academy on Friday. He was also named the Naismith Player of the Year earlier this month.
The star of the game, though, was the 16th-ranked senior in the Class of 2022, and Texas signee, Dillon Mitchell. The 6-7 forward had 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting, and showed boundless energy reeling in 12 rebounds.
“It came down to who wants it more,” Mitchell told reporters. “The whole game I was telling them, ‘This is our last game of high school basketball. Last 16 minutes. Give it all we got.’ So, we went out there and fought.”
Kwame Evans, the No. 2 junior in the nation, was another big contributor for the Eagles as he nailed a dagger three-pointer in an 11- point performance.
For No. 4 seed Link Academy, their first season as a program has to be considered a success. While five-star prospects Jordan Walsh and Julian Phillipps will be leaving next season, they still have guys like Omaha Biliew, the No. 9 ranked junior in the country, returning next year.
Montverde will look for the three-peat next season with Evans leading the way under Coach Boyle.
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