High school basketball weekend recap: Reigning national champion No. 2 IMG Academy falls to No. 8 Paul VI

National High School Hoops Festival, Hoophall West and Chicago Elite Classic headlined crazy weekend of high school hoops.

Thumbnail image of this articles writer: Jordan Divens
By
Dec 9, 2019, 2:00pm
Video: Massive expectations for Sierra Canyon
Trailblazers got a win over Millennium at Hoophall West.

A crazy weekend of high school basketball saw five Top 25 teams fall, including two teams in the Top 10.

Three major events headlined the weekend as the National High School Hoops Festival, Hoophall West and Chicago Elite Classic helped shape this week's national rankings.

National High School Hoops Festival

A pair of upsets involving Top 10 teams headlined the National High School Hoops Festival.

No. 8 Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) shocked the defending national champions, No. 2 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 67-56 in the biggest game of the weekend.

No. 19 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) notched a pair of signature wins, knocking off host No. 6 DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) 75-67 one night after taking down No. 16 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 61-55.

Paul VI followed up its massive early season victory with a hard-fought 78-67 triumph against Word of God Christian Academy (Raleigh, N.C.). IMG Academy rebounded with an 85-51 drubbing of Cornerstone Christian (San Antonio, Texas).

Hoophall West

No. 4 Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) and 5-star prospect Jalen Green put on a show Thursday night against No. 21 Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix). The Crew took home a dominant 88-71 victory behind an impressive 33-point performance from Green.

Saturday night, No. 3 Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) drew an over-capacity crowd for a 76-66 victory over Arizona contender Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.), while No. 18 Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Chattanooga, Tenn.) picked up a quality win over Hillcrest Prep as well, cruising to a 67-52 win in the final game of the event.

Five-star junior Jaden Hardy had the most impressive individual performance at the event, posting 40 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds in a 35-point win for Coronado (Henderson, Nev.).
Guard Jalen Green poured in 33 points in Prolific Prep's victory at the Hoophall West in Arizona.
Guard Jalen Green poured in 33 points in Prolific Prep's victory at the Hoophall West in Arizona.
Photo by Mark Jones
Chicago Elite Classic

The final four games of the Chicago Elite Classic each had national rankings implications as No. 20 Morgan Park (Chicago) and a number of teams sitting just outside the Top 25 were involved in dramatic contests.

Bloom (Chicago Heights, Ill.) has emerged as the team to beat in the state of Illinois, cruising to an 84-54 victory over Pace Academy (Atlanta, Ga.) on Saturday night to move to 7-0.

The final three games of the night saw heart-stopping finishes as Morgan Park escaped with a 73-72 overtime victory against Christian Brothers (St. Louis), No. 25 St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) outlasted Simeon (Chicago) 61-57 and Duncanville (Texas) gritted out a 57-55 win over Whitney Young (Chicago).

Top performers from the Windy City event include Bloom's Dante Maddox Jr. who finished with 30 points, Morgan Park's Brandon Weston went for 25 points and Whitney Young's D.J. Steward, scoring 21 points.
Guard Dante Maddox Jr. scored 30 points in Bloom's victory in the Chicago Elite Classic at Wintrust Arena.
Guard Dante Maddox Jr. scored 30 points in Bloom's victory in the Chicago Elite Classic at Wintrust Arena.
Photo by Anthony Gadomski

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