Florida’s Montverde captures 35th Beach Ball Classic championship

As many expected, Montverde Academy (Fla.) resembled the three-time defending national champion that it is Thursday night in the championship game of the 35th Beach Ball Classic at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.

The talented Eagles built a 20-point lead and were in total command against St. John’s College High School (D.C.).

And then they weren’t.

What appeared to be an easy victory turned into a thriller as St. John’s (12-1) scored 16 consecutive points and held Montverde scoreless for more than 7 minutes to pull within a point, and nearly made a game-winning 3-pointer with 6 seconds remaining.

But the shot by senior guard Anthony Cowan was nearly halfway through the rim before it rattled out and Montverde held on for a scintillating 52-48 win to claim the title in the program’s first tournament appearance.

“Any time you win this tournament, obviously you’d like to win it in dominant fashion and playing great, and I thought we did that for about 25 minutes and the last seven minutes were a disaster,” Montverde coach Kevin Boyle said. “But we were able to come out with the win, and that’s what counts in the end.”

The Eagles (15-1) closed the first half with a 14-5 run to take a nine-point edge into halftime, then opened the second half on a 13-2 run to open up a 20-point lead with 9:30 to play.

They still led by 17 points following a jumper by Devonta Jordan with 7:44 remaining. But Montverde wouldn’t score again until there were 37 seconds remaining in the game, and St. John’s continuously cut into its lead sparked by defensive pressure.

The Cadets trailed by two points when Cowan, a Maryland commitment who was just 2 for 17 from the field for the game, pulled up at the top of the key with 6 seconds remaining and appeared for a moment to make the game-winner.

“It was in,” said St. John’s coach Sean McAloon. “It was in and it was out. The kids fought and I’m glad we went out standing rather than on our backs.”

Boyle, who won the 2008 Beach Ball title as the coach of St. Patrick (N.J.), is the first coach to win a title with two schools. His Eagles have won the Dick's National High School Championship at Madison Square Garden three consecutive years.

“Up 20 we subbed, they got a couple field goals to make it 15, then we subbed and they hit a field goal to make it 12, and all of a sudden we were playing a little too cautious,” Boyle said. “… We were playing like we were afraid to make a mistake all of a sudden. We looked like we felt the pressure a little bit.”

Thursday marked just the second time since 2005 the championship game ended with a single-digit margin of victory.

“These kids aren’t quitters,” McAloon said. “We don’t have quitters in our group. We got a little spark from our bench to get us going and I think some of the starters saw the guys off the bench could make some plays and do what we wanted them to do. Once those guys saw it they replicated it and we were able to get pressure defensively a little bit. They had a little trouble with our guards and pressure and we were able to feed off the energy.”

After St. John’s scored 16 straight points to pull within a point at 47-46, Jordan hit a free throw to push Montverde’s advantage to two points with 37 seconds remaining.

Tournament MVP Micah Potter, a 6-10 senior headed to Ohio State, grabbed a rebound and made two free throws to put the Eagles up by four. A layup by Dejuan Clayton cut the deficit back to two, and Cowan’s shot wouldn’t fall following a missed free throw by Potter.

Potter got the rebound of the miss and hit two free throws with 2 seconds remaining to ice the win.

“In the end it got a little rowdy, but we pulled out the win and that’s what we need,” said Potter, who had game-highs with 19 points and 11 rebounds. “I always want the ball in my hand in the last second. I’ve always been like that. I want to be able to take the last shot, whether it be free throws or a jumper or post-up inside. … Being a senior I’ve got a lot more experience than other guys.”

This story was originally published December 31, 2015 at 10:36 PM with the headline "Florida’s Montverde captures 35th Beach Ball Classic championship."