MONTVERDE, Fla. – Playing for America's best high school team with a perfect season on the line, Liam McNeeley and his Montverde Eagles were set for a crash course against California powerhouse Prolific Prep in the final of the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament.
The game would feature six McDonald's All-Americans, three a side. McNeeley, the only commitment and signee of the Hoosiers' upcoming recruiting class to this point, was flanked by Derik Queen, who's also of Indiana interest, and Duke signee Cooper Flagg. For Prolific Prep, playmakers such as Washington's Zoom Diallo paired with Alabama pledges Derrion Reed and Aiden Sherrell earned the honor.
As you can imagine, plenty of talent abounds from these two programs outside of the MCDAAG recognition. It would show early and often at the gym they call the Nest.
The Eagles had rolled over Imani Christian (PA) and Oak Ridge (FL) the two previous nights to be here in comfortable fashion, but Prolific would stretch Kevin Boyle's squad to its limits.
Saturday night's thriller featured 11 exchanges of the lead and a tied score on five separate occasions. The lead was never more than eight on either side, and time spent in the lead was separated by just 22 total seconds.
But in a game that featured all the star power you could imagine in one setting, McNeeley filled the point column to the tune of a game-high 19 points, helping earn Montverde a 22nd consecutive victory to open the year.
19 points on 7-of-11 shooting (3-of-4 from three) and two boards helped push the Eagles to 22-0 on the season.
On the weekend, he scored 18 points in Montverde's win over Imani Christian Thursday night and found measured impact in Friday's win over Oak Ridge despite not scoring. He added eight rebounds, four assists and a steal before Saturday night's showcase performance.
According to MaxPreps, McNeeley is averaging 12.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists a game.
Teammate and current IU recruiting target Derik Queen is scoring 16.5 points and pulling in 7.3 rebounds a night as well. In Saturday's MAIT final victory, he scored 14 points and added three rebounds, three assists and two steals on his own.
TheHoosier.com caught up with both McNeeley and Queen down in Florida after the victory. Below are their full Q&As:
Next time out, the Montverde squad takes on Jalen Haralson, Darius Adams and in-state national power La Lumiere in Nike EYBL Scholastic conference play on February 1.
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