It’s not as if the Cypress Springs boys basketball team needs much positive reinforcement regarding their stellar start.

Winning the Houston ISD Jaycees tournament last weekend, including defeating Yates in the championship, reminded the Panthers how well they can compete with any style. Friday afternoon in the Houston vs. The Nation tournament at the Aldine Campbell Center, Springs showed no signs of intimidation against perennial Florida power Montverde Academy and walked away with a 65-59 upset.

Montverde (12-1), an Orlando-area team with six Division I prospects or signees which is ranked as high as second in the nation by some polls, was handed its first loss in 42 games since 2005.

New Mexico signee Phillip McDonald had 26 points and three blocks and Marquette-bound Erik Williams added 23 points and seven rebounds for Cy Springs (19-2).

“We heard they were a pressing team and we enjoy that,” Panthers coach John Harmatuk said. “If my guards can get out in space and find the big guys on the wing we feel pretty confident. It all worked out tonight. …

“We were already a pretty confident bunch. This is just icing on the cake. We’re on a good roll right here.”

Cy Springs led 30-29 at halftime despite being outrebounded 23-7, but virtually decided the outcome with a 10-0 run late in the third quarter. McDonald hit two free throws and back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 53-43.

“All we need is a little spark and all of us get going,” McDonald said.

But Montverde didn’t go away, responding with a 10-2 run early in the fourth to close to 57-55. Cy Springs helped by missing four straight field goals and as many free throws.

“We weren’t putting enough pressure on the ball so we were letting them run their offense,” Harmatuk said of his team’s defensive struggles in the first half and some of the second. “If they got the ball closer to the rim we were in trouble because of their size. So in the second half our adjustment was to make sure we were putting constant pressure on the ball and don’t let it get closer to the basket. By having some space down there we could get some rebounds.”

Williams hit a running layup with 1:19 left and McDonald followed with a basket shortly thereafter for a 64-59 lead.

Marcus Capers scored 16 points for Montverde. Steve Tcheingang added 13 and Femi Akinpetide 12; Akinpetide and Ruslan Pateev each had seven rebounds to pace a 47-22 rebounding edge.

 Yates 82, Oak Hill (Va.) 80

In possibly the tournament’s most entertaining game yet, Yates senior guard Xavier Roberson knocked down a jumper with .96 seconds left to lift the Lions past perennial national power Oak Hill.

Oak Hill led 48-41 at halftime but Yates hung around, taking a 79-78 lead on Roberson’s layup with 2:05 to play.

Anthony Jones scored 22 points and Roberson 21 for Yates.

Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick 79, Madison 67

The loss of swingman Joseph Lawson helped doom Madison against St. Patrick, a near-unanimous No. 1 in most national polls.

Lawson left the game with four fouls in the second half and later went down with what coach Craig Maura described as a reoccurring knee injury.

The game was tied at 21 after the first quarter and St. Patrick led 37-32 at halftime before steadily extending its lead in the fourth.

“There are three kids that are difficult to replace and that’s Tommy (Mason-Griffin, an LSU commitment), Richard (Brown) and Joe because of what they bring to the table,” Maura said.

Mason-Griffin had a game-high 28 points and Brown 24.

Quintrell Thomas scored 22 for St. Patrick.

Klein Collins 60, Albany (N.Y.) Academy 39

Gonzaga commitment Demetri Goodson scored 15 points to lead Klein Collins (16-3) to a rout of Albany Academy (7-1).

Jared Holzworth added 13 points for the Tigers, who outscored the Cadets 30-16 in the middle quarters.

Jamey Fields had 24 points for Albany Academy.
 
Check back throughout the evening for complete coverage of Houston vs. The Nation.

Wheatley 64, Minneapolis DeLaSalle 53

DeShaun Garrett’s 27 points and five rebounds carried Wheatley past DeLaSalle, the second straight loss in Texas for the three-time state champions from Minnesota.

D.J. Stearn and Joseph Franklin added 16 and 11 points, respectively, as Wheatley opened a 35-25 halftime lead and were never seriously threatened after that.

Royce White had 15 points for DeLaSalle.

SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
Aldine vs. Bellaire, 9 a.m.
Kingwood vs. Smiley, 10:30 a.m.
Cypress Springs vs. St. Thomas, noon
St. Pius vs. Minneapolis DeLaSalle, 1:30 p.m.
Texas Championship (Hastings vs. TBA), 3 p.m.
Wheatley vs. Albany (N.Y.) Academy, 4:30 p.m.
Klein Collins vs. Montverde (Fla.) Academy, 6 p.m.
Yates vs. Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick, 8 p.m. (ESPNU national telecast)
Madison vs. Oak Hill (Va.), 10 p.m. (ESPNU national telecast)

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