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All season, Montverde boys basketball was, on paper, the best team in the league. Stacked with five-star talent, stopping the Eagles wasn’t as simple as stopping No. 1 2024 recruit Cooper Flagg — it was about stopping everyone.
The paper translated to the court. Nobody could stop the unit. The regular season came and went without a loss; the Eagles proved themselves once again in the prestigious Chipotle Nationals.
They took down Paul VI, ranked No. 4 in the Super 25, by a score of 79-63 to hoist the hardware and cap the undefeated, 34-0 season.
The offensive star today was Curtis Givens, who poured in 24 points off the bench. He made six 3-pointers and shot 7-for-11 from the field while adding three assists and three rebounds. A four-star LSU commit, Givens’ role of coming off the bench wasn’t because of his skill — it was a testament to that of the team, and his willingness to fulfill what the group needed most. His 26 minutes on Saturday were third-most on the team.
Curtis Givens finished with 2️⃣4️⃣ points! #ChipotleNationals@lilcurtis_3 | @MVABasketball pic.twitter.com/euT6ek4jMz
— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) April 6, 2024
The most minutes went to Flagg, whose six blocks, one steal and eight offensive rebounds were as integral as his offensive performance. He had 16 points, but largely deferred on that end as he only attempted nine shots.
You can see in this short highlight clip that both a block and a steal from him led to immediate points:
Cooper Flagg recorded 1️⃣6️⃣ points and 6️⃣ blocks in the victory 😤 #ChipotleNationals@Cooper_Flagg | @MVABasketball pic.twitter.com/IhHgXAkw7Q
— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) April 6, 2024
Five-star Maryland commit Derik Queen, who won the McDonald’s MVP award last week, had a nice game, scoring 19 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Paul VI was led once again by Darren Harris, whose superb Chipotle Nationals run came to a close with 16 points on inefficient shooting. He was electric in the opening rounds, but Montverde managed to hold him to just 5-for-14 shooting. It sealed a remarkable season for the Panthers, who went 35-3 and whose only losses were to Montverde (twice, including the championship) and Columbus (who fell to Montverde in the semifinals).
Montverde’s run of excellence sends its seniors out on a high note. The entire starting lineup was made up of five-star players, and with four-star Givens coming off the bench, they met — and perhaps exceeded — the immense expectations put upon them this year. The Eagles also set up a future run, with five-star sophomores Caleb Gaskins and Kayden Allen getting in on the action.
It’s Montverde’s seventh Chipotle (formerly GEICO) championship, and they’re hoping to be back next year for another run.
They join their sister Eagles as champions, who completed the three-peat earlier in the morning.
It’s a good day and a good year to be an Eagle.
Related: Montverde girls basketball three-peats as Chipotle Nationals champions