First off, don't let the final score fool you. It could have been much worse. Montverde head coach Kevin Sutton, former head coach of Bishop McNamara, kept his team structured and played in the half court for most of the second half. They would press and back off occasionally just to keep Braddock honest. Second, Montverde's team is young. They have two seniors on their roster in 6'11" Idongist Ibok and 5'9" Taka Unebasseambe. Ibok's strength in the post was not utilized in a relatively easy win for the Eagles. Montverde had four players in double figures with junior Giedriuis Knysas leading the way with 20 points.

This makes Montverde Academy's third tournament in as many weeks. They won the Mount Dora Bible tournament last weekend. They had solid victories over the Pendleton School and Shores Christian enroute to winning the 3rd Annual Tim Brinkley Memorial Tournament at North Marion High School two weeks ago. It appears that they might make it 3 for 3 as they play South Fork in Saturday's first semifinal game. Good luck to South Fork in that game.

Montverde started 5 juniors in 6'7" Luc Mbahamoute, 6'9" Arminus Urbutis, 6'8" Giedriuis Knysas, 6'3" Mark King, and 6'1" Vytautas Valiulis. Valiulis had an off shooting game at 5-13 including 0-4 from the 3-point line. The same could not be said for the 6'8" Knysas. He was 4-6 from the field and 4-4 from behind the arc. A nice overall 20 point performance. Mark King had a solid performance running the point. Senior Idongist Ibok was used sparingly throughout the entire game. He will see the ball a lot more against South Fork.

Game 2: St. Lucie West Centennial 47, Southwest Miami 39

A low scoring game featuring two teams not shooting well for an entire half. Southwest was without their leading scorer. However, Angel Melendez stepped up nicely providing 18 points. Centennial's Mike Vantill provided some offense as he was good for 18 points. Southwest's lack of a bench (only 8 players) was a detriment down the stretch. Southwest kept it a close game but Centennial just controlled the boards the entire game. Centennial will play Martin County in the second semi-final game on Saturday.

Game 3: South Fork 52, Plantation 44

Plantation appears to be the better of the Miami teams in attendance as they gave South Fork a good game. However, sophomore Brennen Grubbs (15 points) and senior Ferrel Graham (12 points) led South Fork in scoring. A low scoring 1st quarter gave Plantation the edge with a 10-7 lead. However, South Fork used the 2nd quarter to go in at the half up 23-18. Plantation battled back to end the 3rd quarter in a 31-31 tie. The 4th quarter belonged to South Fork as sophomores David Allison and T.J. Grace made some crucial plays down the stretch. The downside to South Fork's effort was poor free throw shooting (16 of 33) as a team for the game. Plantation did not have a single player in double figures. South Fork will meet Montverde in the first semi-final game.

South Fork is guard strong. Their "biggest" players are 6'3" Brennen Grubbs and 6'3" junior Antron James. This is quite a contrast to their mext opponent, Montverde Academy. South Fork's guards are 5'10" Ferrel Graham, 5'10" James Dixon, 5'9" David Allison and 5'8" Ernest McIntyre. They will give Montverde's guards fits with their athleticism. So, expect Montverde to exploit their size and look to 6'11" post player Idongist Ibok.

Game 4: Martin County , Miramar

Miramar cancelled last week and no other teams contacted could participate. So, Martin County did not play this evening.

Game 6: G.W. Braddock 55, Southwest Miami 48

Aleides Gomez led Braddock to the win Southwest. Southwest's lean squad of 8 players was just enough. Angel Melendez provided some offense for Southwest, just not enough in their loss.

Game 7: Montverde Academy 61, South Fork 54

Montverde Academy used their size to their advantage in their 61-54 win over South Fork. Luc Mbahamoute (20 points) and Arminus Urbutis (18 points) powered Montverde out to a 30-14 lead with less than a minute to go in the second quarter. South Fork hit the last 4 points of the quarter to close to a 30-18 halftime lead. South Fork opened up a bit in the 3rd quarter and finished with a 20-13 advantage. However, Montverde hit 18 of 22 free throws to keep South Fork from pulling this game out. Sophomore Brennen Grubbs (14 points) led South Fork in scoring.

Normally reliable shooting from junior Vytautas Valiulis and an off game from Mark King should add some concern for head coach Kevin Sutton. The big fella, 6'11" Idongist Ibok, has seen limited minutes in the tournament. He missed an easy dunk near the end of the 2nd quarter and a pass from Valiulis that would have certainly been a nasty two handed dunk. All in all, Montverde continues to improve as other players continue to step up and perform. They will be a tough team to beat with their size and Coach Sutton strolling the sidelines. Coach Sutton has been extremely patient in his half court offense. He could easily turn the past several games into dunk fests with his tall players. However, his discipline and attitude are reasons to watch this team get better throuoghout the season.

Montverde will play Martin County for the championship at 7:30 on Monday evening. South Fork will play Centennial for third place at 6:00.

Game 8: Martin County 53, St. Lucie West Centennial 43

Centennial's Mike Vantill and Al Miller combined for 22 points. But, in the end it was too much Martin County. Martin County's leading scorer Aaron Simmons and junior Alonzo Wade combined for 22 points as well as Martin County used an 18-8 3rd quarter to stretch the lead to 44-28. The win puts Martin County above 0.500 for the first time this season.

It is nice to see Martin County on their 4 game win streak after starting the season with 3 losses. The win streak will be tested on Monday against Montverde Academy. Martin County is a very young and small team. Junior Aaron Simmons (5'7") and freshman Ricky Warren (5'7") offer Martin County a quality backcourt as each are capable of handling the point guard position. Martin Couny's big problem is their frontcourt. senior Tim Clonan (6'2"), junior Alonzo Wade (6'3"), and junior Dan Hollister (6'3") are the tallest players on the roster. The tallest player on the team, junior Edd Johnson, still can't play with problems with grades. Monday's matchup with Montverde will be a tough one.

Game 10: Plantation, G.W. Braddock

No report available.

Game 11: South Fork 56, St. Lucie West Centennial 53

A terrfible way to end a game but a win is a win. Centennial Rick McHardy was assessed a technical foul for being out of the coaches box with 22 seconds left. Senior guard Ferrel Graham steps up and knocks down the free throws. Game over, South Fork wins. Graham had a team high 15 points. Centennial's leading scorer for the game, Al Miller, fouling out in the middle of the 4th quarter did not help the Eagles cause. A balanced offense from South Fork yielded 4 scorers in double figures: sophomores Brennen Grubbs and T.J. Grace, junior Ernest McIntyre and Graham.

Game 12: Montverde Academy 55, Martin County 48

Martin County was an admirable opponent for Montverde Academy in the championship game. Montverde junior guard Vytautas Valiulis finally had a good offensive showing being game-high with 21 points. Arminus Urbutis had a great tournament averaging 13.7 PPG and showed that he is a solid player. Martin County continues to get solid games from 5'7" junior guard Aaron Simmons. He had a 14 point game. Senior Tim Clonan was team-high with 16 points in the loss. The tournament helped Martin County to stay above 0.500 with a 5-4 record.

Martin County used their press to keep the game close throughout. Montverde had only a 25-21 half time lead. Martin County was able to cut into the lead and close out the 3rd quarter down only two. In the end, Montverde claimed the win closing the 4th quarter with a 16-11 advantage. The undersized Martin County stepped up and gave Montverde a great game.