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MaxPreps Top 25 national high school boys basketball rankings

February 2, 2015 by MaxPreps, AZPreps365


Photo by Nick Koza

Fairfax is back in the national conversation for the first time since the Chace Stanback-Solomon Hill-Renardo Sidney era after beating Sierra Canyon over the weekend.

MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard

1. (No. 1 last week) Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), 35-0 *
The Warriors have scored 100 points or more six times this season – including Friday's 100-56 thrashing of Bull City Prep (Durham, N.C.). In a bold bit of scheduling, Oak Hill Academy will take on No. 6 Sierra Canyon and No. 17 Bishop O'Dowd at this weekend's Nike Extravaganza in California.

2. (2) Montverde Academy (Fla.), 26-1
After winning their own Montverde Academy Invitational, the Eagles will take a couple weeks off before heading to New Jersey for the Metro Classic.

3. (3) Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.), 19-1
The next 10 days will be challenging for the Pilots, as they will play in the home gyms of four solid, local public school programs.

4. (17) Fairfax (Los Angeles), 23-0
Doubts have lingered about Fairfax and its unbeaten record all season long. The Lions finally got the showdown they wanted Saturday night and responded emphatically, handling No. 6 Sierra Canyon 64-47. Head coach Harvey Kitani's squad will have a tricky follow-up, meeting four-time defending state champ Mater Dei (Santa Ana) on its home floor Saturday at the Nike Extravaganza.

5. (6) St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio), 15-0
LeBron James' alma mater got another big win Saturday night, beating one-loss Athens (The Plains) 60-48. SVSM will head to the Hoosier State to take on 12-2 North Central (Indianapolis) this weekend.

* Record includes forfeit victory
Photo by Richard Ta

Marcus Evans helped No. 8 Cape Henry Collegiate roll to a pair of wins over the weekend at Battle By The Bay in Atlantic City.

6. (4) Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), 16-2
As deflating as Saturday's loss to No. 4 Fairfax was, it's tough to drop the Trailblazers below No. 7 DeMatha – who they beat on a neutral floor in early January.

7. (7) DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), 20-1
The Stags are dominating in the ultra-competitive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference this season, winning by an average margin of 23.3 points per game.

8. (8) Cape Henry Collegiate (Virginia Beach, Va.), 21-2
Collegiate has defeated teams from eight states outside of Virginia this season, including Lawrenceville School and Newark Tech of New Jersey over the weekend.

9. (5) Greensboro Day (N.C.), 27-1
A rematch with No. 12 Wesleyan Christian Academy is set for Tuesday. Greensboro Day gets the Trojans at home this time around after beating them on the road in the first game.

10. (10) Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.), 21-2
Just two regular season games remain for the Wildcats.
Photo by Mike Braca

Carlton Bragg and Villa Angela-St. Joseph have a couple of big opportunities ahead on the regular season schedule.

11. (12) Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Cleveland), 12-2
Showdowns with defending Division I state champ St. Edward (Lakewood) and No. 5 St. Vincent-St. Mary remain on the regular season schedule.

12. (13) Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.), 24-4
All four of WCA's losses came against Top 10 teams. The Trojans get a chance to avenge one of those Tuesday when they meet No. 9 Greensboro Day.

13. (25) Blanche Ely (Pompano Beach, Fla.), 22-0
Laquincy Rideau (16 points) and Javon Heastie (15) led the Tigers to a 69-63 win over then-No. 11 Cardinal Gibbons in the final of Broward County's Big 8 tournament on Saturday. Ely's story this season is all the more remarkable because head coach Melvin Randall – a four-time state champion – was inexplicably relieved of his duties last June but rehired a short time later.

14. (14) Garfield (Seattle), 19-0
The Bulldogs wrap up the regular season Friday against Ballard (Seattle). Garfield still hasn't allowed an opponent to keep the final margin under 13 points this season.

15. (15) Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.), 22-1
Sophomore Markus Howard – the state's leading scorer at 31.5 points per game – and 19-4 Perry (Gilbert) should give the Aztecs a tussle Monday night.

16. (16) Jonesboro (Ga.), 23-1
Unbeaten since Nov. 22, the Cardinals close out the regular season Tuesday against Pike County (Zebulon).

17. (18) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.), 15-3
The Dragons lost to No. 1 Oak Hill Academy in December at the Iolani Classic but get a shot at redemption Saturday at the Nike Extravaganza.

18. (20) Huntington St. Joseph Prep (W.Va.), 23-2
Miles Bridges led the way with 28 points Saturday as the Fighting Irish routed The Miller School (Charlottesville, Va.) to win their own Huntington Invitational.

19. (21) Plano West (Texas), 22-2
Playing without Texas A&M-bound big man Tyler Davis, West rallied for a 55-53 win over Lewisville on Friday night.

20. (22) Atascocita (Humble, Texas), 26-1
It's been a quick rise to prominence for Atascocita, a Houston-area school that opened in the fall of 2006. The Eagles are 55-8 over the past two seasons under head coach David Martinez.
File photo by Nick Koza

Stephen Thompson Jr. singlehandedly outscored Loyola in a 94-34 win for Bishop Montgomery over the weekend.

21. (23) Stevenson (Lincolnshire, Ill.), 17-2
After a full week off, the Patriots return to action Tuesday against Lake Zurich. Stevenson's biggest remaining game in the regular season will be Feb. 21 against Simeon (Chicago).

22. (24) Mustang (Okla.), 16-0
The Broncos averaged 89 points per game in 12 outings during the month of January, winning seven of those by 30 points or more.

23. (NR) Roman Catholic (Philadelphia), 18-1
Back on track with four wins in a row after a Jan. 18 loss, the Cahillites dispatched St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) 53-39 on Friday night.

24. (11) Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 25-1
The Chiefs are 60 seconds away from having an unbeaten record heading into Florida's 5A postseason. Gibbons was outscored 6-0 in the final minute Saturday against No. 13 Blanche Ely in a 69-63 loss.

25. (NR) Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), 23-1
A 60-point win over proud Loyola (Los Angeles) was an attention-grabber – but perhaps it shouldn't have been. Over half of Bishop Montgomery's wins have come by 20 points or more.

Dropped out: No. 9 Wayne (Huber Heights, Ohio), No. 19 Quality Education Academy (Winston-Salem, N.C.)