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MaxPreps Top 25 national high school boys basketball rankings

December 8, 2014 by MaxPreps, AZPreps365


Photo by Wayne Litmer

Dwayne Bacon (with ball) led Oak Hill Academy past Our Savior New American in a battle of Top 25 teams at the Marshall County Hoopfest in Kentucky.

MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard

1. (No. 1 preseason) Montverde Academy (Fla.), 6-0
Ben Simmons and the Eagles took care of business at the Buckeye Elite National Showcase in West Virginia, posting double-digit wins over Ballard (Louisville, Ky.) and then-No. 10 Plano West (Texas). Up next is a showdown with No. 7 Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.). Though some may look at last year's forfeit win over Curie of Chicago as a loss, Montverde Academy has officially won 40 games in a row dating back to January of 2013.

2. (2) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), 14-0
The Warriors held on late for a 68-66 win over then-No. 15 Our Savior New American (Centereach, N.Y.) at the Marshall County Hoopfest in Kentucky. Oak Hill Academy also registered a 97-60 win over Reach Your Dreams Prep (Memphis, Tenn.) at the event.

3. (3) Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), 8-0
Shadow Mountain (Phoenix) will take a crack at the Pilots this weekend. Defending state champs in Arizona, the Matadors are coached by former NBA point guard Mike Bibby and led by junior floor general Mike Bibby Jr.

4. (4) La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.), 7-0
The Lakers drew rave reviews for their 77-48 thrashing of Christ Presbyterian Academy (Nashville, Tenn.) at the Marshall County Hoopfest. Canadian import Nolan Narain notched 17 points and 14 rebounds in the win.

5. (5) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), 0-0
Opens Dec. 10 vs. Yeshiva University of Los Angeles.
Photo by Samuel Stringer

Jeevin Sandhu and Bishop O'Dowd will take a shot at No. 1 Montverde Academy this week.

6. (6) Huntington St. Joseph Prep (W.Va.), 10-0
A trip to the Marshall County Hoopfest netted wins over Arsenal Tech (Indianapolis) and Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, Fla.).

7. (7) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.), 2-0
O'Dowd avoided a letdown in looking ahead to No. 1 Montverde Academy by handling Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco) 59-41 on Saturday night.

8. (9) Stevenson (Lincolnshire, Ill.), 5-0
Jalen Brunson and company are taking care of business in the early stages of the season, winning their first five outings by an average margin of 30 points per game.

9. (8) Roselle Catholic (N.J.), 0-0
Opens Dec. 19 vs. Plainfield.

10. (12) Simeon (Chicago), 1-0
The Wolverines opened with an 87-72 win over Lancaster (Texas) at the Chicago Elite Classic. It would be a bit of a surprise if Simeon didn't enter the new year unbeaten.
Photo by Wayne Litmer

After a tough loss to Oak Hill Academy at the Marshall County Hoopfest, Damon Wilson and Our Savior New American will look to rebound at a showcase in Maryland this weekend.

11. (10) Plano West (Texas), 6-1
The Wolves hung tough against top-ranked Montverde Academy but couldn't slay the dragon. There is no time to wallow as West takes on aforementioned Lancaster on Monday.

12. (13) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 1-0
Head coach Gary McKnight is four wins away from 1,000 after his Monarchs opened with an 88-32 win over Dos Pueblos (Goleta).

13. (14) Cape Henry Collegiate (Virginia Beach, Va.), 4-0
Chris Clarke helped the Dolphins clear another hurdle Saturday with 19 points in a 57-48 win over Kecoughtan (Hampton).

14. (16) Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.), 8-0
Ranked No. 2 nationally by USA Today, Wesleyan continues to climb our ladder after a 19-point win over Christ School (Arden) on Saturday.

15. (15) Our Savior New American (Centereach, N.Y.), 5-1
It's tough to knock OSNA for a close loss to No. 2 Oak Hill Academy. The Pioneers will have the opportunity to build their resume next weekend at the National High School Hoopfest in Maryland against Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) and Canadian power Orangeville Prep.
File photo by Jim Redman

Carsen Edwards led Atascocita to its second tournament title of the season over the weekend.

16. (21) Atascocita (Humble, Texas), 12-0
Led by MVP Carsen Edwards, the Eagles captured the Jack Frost Tournament title Saturday night with a 41-38 win over Lake Travis (Austin). Atascocita already has two tourney crowns under its belt this season.

17. (17) Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.), 4-0
The Wildcats continue to build momentum toward their appearance in the City of Palms Classic later this month, crushing Walton (Marietta) 97-61 on Saturday behind 34 points and 12 rebounds from senior superstar Jaylen Brown.

18. (18) Muskegon (Mich.), 0-0
Opens Dec. 12 vs. Rockford.

19. (23) Southwind (Memphis, Tenn.), 7-0
The Jaguars have already beaten teams from Arkansas, Illinois and Mississippi in addition to Tennessee. Southwind went into enemy territory Saturday night and emerged with a 69-66 win over defending Illinois 4A champ Whitney Young (Chicago) at the Chicago Elite Classic.

20. (25) Sagemont (Weston, Fla.), 6-0
Since January of 2013, Sagemont has posted a record of 48-2. The run of success continued last Wednesday against Archbishop Curley (Miami) in an 80-35 win.

Rawle Alkins and Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) impressed Saturday at the Chicago Elite Classic.

21. (NR) St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, N.J.), 3-0
It has been a dominating start to the season for a team that hopes to play its way back into the national championship conversation after a top five finish in 2013. The Gray Bees blasted their first three opponents by an average margin of over 33 points per game.

22. (NR) Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), 2-0
It was difficult to accept not having a team in our preseason Top 25 from the Maryland-D.C. high school basketball hotbed, but we elected to take a wait-and-see approach. The Washington Post likes the Panthers as the area's No. 1 team and it's hard to argue after a pair of dominating wins last week.

23. (NR) Centennial (Corona, Calif.), 3-0
One of the last teams left out of the preseason Top 25, Centennial knocked off fellow Inland Empire powerhouse Etiwanda 67-63 over the weekend.

24. (NR) Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.), 2-0
Royals junior guard Rawle Alkins stole the show Saturday at the Chicago Elite Classic, registering 28 points, seven assists and six rebounds in an impressive 87-56 win over St. Rita (Chicago).

25. (NR) Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Cleveland), 1-0
After coming up short on the showcase circuit a year ago, VASJ turned things around with a huge victory Saturday at the Marshall County Hoopfest, beating Pennsylvania title hopeful Archbishop Carroll (Radnor) 60-54.

Dropped out: No. 11 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), No. 19 St. Francis (Alpharetta, Ga.), No. 20 Chino Hills (Calif.), No. 22 Pebblebrook (Mableton, Ga.), No. 23 Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas)

Keep an eye on: Bentonville (Ark.), Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.), Garfield (Seattle)Greensboro Day (N.C.), Hamilton (Memphis, Tenn.), Oldsmar Christian (Fla.), Quality Education Academy (Winston-Salem, N.C.), Rainier Beach (Seattle), St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio), Trinity (Louisville, Ky.), Wayne (Huber Heights, Ohio), West Linn (Ore.), Word of God Christian Academy (Raleigh, N.C.)